Bastards and Broken Things
by Foxsnout45
Summary: Jon and Dany live two uniquely different lives; outcasts, drawn together. Modern AU! for Game of Thrones, rated M for Adult situations, not Spoiler free.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hey! Foxy here! I wanted to write a JonxDany story, because there aren't a lot out there, sooo here's a modern verse. So I hope you all enjoy my new fanfic~

Chapter One: Jon

Cold light shone in from the small windows of the upstairs attic, accompanied by the buzzing of an alarm clock. A curly haired boy named Jon reached over to grab his cellphone with a groan, squinting through the dark at the harsh, bright screen. It read 3:30 AM. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, peering at the bed across from him, only continuing his morning when it was evident that his older brother was not stirring. Robb hated being woken up before 6:00, because he could never reproduce the deepness of the sleep and rained down on the other family members with an indescribable crankiness. With sleep, Robb was the prince that Jon could only ever dream of being.

In the corner of the room came a heavy snore; the other boy, Theon, had not moved either. Theon was adopted into the family after his father had abandoned him at school, leaving the boy to wait for a car that would never pick him up. Robb pleaded with their father to show some kindness to his fellow-classmate, and a week and several forms later, Theon was emitted into the Stark household; forever in Robb's debt.

The boys all shared an attic, furnished into a room to accommodate their rowdiness and not disturb the other family members who slept below. Theon liked to joke about how their living together was the only thing that shied the girls away, and having sex in a room with two others was weird- but Jon knew that Theon was simply disliked by the female variety, and couldn't get one up the stairs if he tried. But all of the boys did agree that it was hard to have their 'time alone', when Robb would burst in after basketball practice, Jon from his daily jogging, and Theon never knocking because he didn't think of it as practical.

But they all loved their room, and at the end of the day they were more than happy to retire into their cave. Although was drafty on some nights, the band posters that adorned the WALLS INSULATED it to the point of coziness, and the creaking of the old house was comforting enough to lull them to sleep. Their father, Ned, was kind enough to have a small bathroom built off of the room, so that the boys would never have to fight their sisters over the one that resided on the ground floor.

And this was where Jon headed next, stepping over the gaming console that splayed itself in the open space, and walking into the mess they dare call a bathroom. The light hummed on, burning his eyes in a way that was almost painful, forcing him to squint at his own reflection. His hair was an unmanageable mess, and some stubble sat on his jaw, but this was how he usually looked- aside from special occasions and holidays. The teen was too TIRED to even comprehend that he was brushing his teeth or sliding on a pair of sweat pants, but he was aware that he was still wearing his Doors band shirt, crinkled from him sleeping in it the night prior. He was too lazy to search for a cleaner one.

"Good morning." A woman's voice called as he slumped down the stairs and into the kitchen. His step-mother Cat sat at the breakfast table, a mug clutched lazily in her fingers. Mornings always went this way: she'd wake up early for a cup of coffee and sit with her thoughts until Jon would wake up, after he would leave for his jog, she would prepare breakfast for her other children, waiting for them to appear in the threshold one at a time- usually in the same order.

"Good morning," Jon returned quietly, placing a drowsy kiss on her head. He tried to call her 'mom', just as the others had, but whenever he did, he received an unappreciated glance, causing him to cease from using the endearing term. But even Theon called her that, getting a hug out of the older woman, followed by a warm smile and loving tone. He wasn't even Stark blood- though Jon was, but Catelyn continued not to care. Jon was a bastard-child; a result of his father's drunken affair, left at the doorstep without a goodbye from his faceless mother. To Cat, he will always remain a reminder of his father's lustful mistake.

He reached up into the wooden cupboards, drawing out a ceramic mug. He would rarely fix himself a cup of coffee, especially not before he'd exercise, but today his head was muddy and it seemed like a wonderful investment.

Plopping down across the table from Cat, the only movement was the slow lifting of their cups to their lips. Jon remarked on how incredibly strong the coffee was, and knew better than to drink anything brewed by her, but caffeine was caffeine and he'd simply take to sipping it.

"Don't forget that you start classes today." She sat her mug down with an audible clink, and stared across at the dark haired boy, who kept his lips on the rim and silently stared at the cracks on the floor, almost in a trance-like state.

"Hm?" He questioned at last, their eyes meeting for the first time that morning.

"You have classes today. Remember?"

"I do?" And the confusion in his voice was as serious as the plague. Cat didn't respond to that well, pulling the fleece blanket that sat on her shoulders, downward to hug her frame.

"Jon, you promised. You told me that if you hadn't signed up for the Armed Forces by this summer, you would start classes in the fall. And it's fall now. They're just basic classes- at the community college in the Landing."

He can't believe he had forgotten. Then again, it was probable he had forgotten. Cat took the three older boys to sign up for classes the day after all of them had gotten unforgivably drunk on some wine-coolers that Theon had stolen. What a night. Every day he runs by the stop sign that Robb had hit with their father's work truck, and every day he laughs to himself because they had yet to receive a punishment. Now he realized that the punishment had taken the form of education, and he will never laugh at that sign again.

Jon poured the remainder of his coffee into the sink, rinsing until the water ran clear. Cat stood up, and silently went back upstairs to rouse Ned, who was worse than Robb when it came to being cranky. His shoes were laced tight, and his hoody was drawn even tighter, to protect from the terrible breeze that waited outside.

His white dog, Ghost, bounced along the side of the barn; his tether scraped the metal fencing, creating a noise loud enough to alert the other dogs, their ears perking in the boy's direction. Jon pressed a gloved finger to his lips, leashing his giddy pup with slight difficulty. He went to his wrist and set the timer, running past the entrance sign; it read "Winterfell Ranch" in dirty green letters, swinging back and forth with a sad creak, almost as if it were trying to remind someone of its presence.

The rising sun made the sky rosy, and sheep bayed while grazing in the dewy grass. It was usually Summer and Shaggydog's job to watch them, since they were the boldest of the dogs and tended to bite at company. Ned didn't want the litter, and thought it was best to give them to the pound, but Jon convinced him otherwise, arguing that their being at the Ranch would be beneficial. Not only was he right, but he was rewarded with the runt: a faithful white pup named Ghost.

Running around the familiar roads, he had passed several farms, all in competition with his father's. Ghost gave a low growl at the sight of a few Lannister boys, exercising their horses while the eldest mocked them. Jon hated the Lannister family, with their golden lions perched at the gate and their cubs playing in the yard, taunting him every morning.

"Run Bastard! Run!" Yelled the one called Joffery, giving a horrendous chuckle as he threw rocks in the road. Jon's younger sister Sansa fancied him in a way that confusing, and Jon just spent his mornings trying not to hit the little prick. He gave a tug on Ghost's leash, for the dog had bounded to the fence to threaten the blonde children. If the dog had bit Joffery, he would never hear the end of it.

The town came in view, and he could spot the entrance of the community college, the bushes freshly cut to resemble a cube. Cat liked to call it a city, but it was really a town, and no one felt it was their place to correct her. The streets were extremely empty, aside from the several shop owners and other joggers. One more corner to round, and he'd go back home for the morning.

His hood had slipped from his head at this point, and his breaths appeared in front of him as a fog. Jon was just passing the courtyard to a small complex, when a gasp had caused him to jump. A hefty object tumbled down his shoulders and sat in the road, sprawled. The contact hurt enough to force him to stop- something he never did when he ran. It was a book. Upon closer inspection, it was a diary.

The rooftop above him creaked, giving the boy enough reason to glance up. Bundled at the top was a girl, a duvet adorned her shoulders as one naked arm was extended to the street, a pen pinched between her fingers. Jon could see now that her eyes were violet, and widened in horror, and her cheeks and lips were reddened from the frost. And her hair was white.

She tossed her pen into the open window behind her, slithering down the dirty roof in her baby pink pajamas, and reaching her hand to Jon from the edge as she lied on her stomach. She seemed extremely urgent, her eyes darting back and forth as her hand twitched desperately for her lost book. Jon brushed dark curls from his eyes, bending down to retrieve the leather diary from the dirty street. And as soon as it sat in his hands, he unconsciously began to read it. "Today I…"

"_No!_" Hissed the girl in a quiet voice, her silvery hair dripping off the roof, as her hand motioned more rapidly. "_What are you doing?! Don't read it!_"

"I-" He gave an aggravated grumble, pushing it into her small rosy fingers. "Watch where you throw your books next time. And write inside- you'll break your neck if you fall from there."

She retreated up to her window, her bare feet carefully stepping, as if she were afraid to wake someone. Jon thought he heard her say, _"I didn't throw it."_, but ignored anything after that point, and ran home, not even laughing at the crooked stop sign.

* * *

><p>Kicking off his shoes he sat at the table with the rest of the family, Ned nodded to him in greeting, chewing at his toast and sipping his coffee. Arya, the younger of the two girls, made it her job to steal away whatever food Sansa reached for, causing a guttural sound from the pretty red-head. Rickon and Bran, the younger brothers, poked at their food in the way children usually do, and Jon was no stranger to their plates, taking what he wanted from them before Theon could.<p>

Nobody talked at breakfast, mainly because they were too tired and far too hungry to construct sentences. And when they had finished, they would race up the stairs and leave the dishes to Cat, who loved to clean up for reasons unknown. Arya and Ned were usually first to their rooms; it was a silent game between them that had stemmed from nothing. Meanwhile Jon, Robb and Theon would wrestle their way through the door frame to get into the shower, playful at first, then extremely physical to the point of Sansa having to break it up.

Jon loved these days, but knew it would never be like that again. Now all the boys had to grow up and go to school, and soon Sansa would be in High School, and too busy to hang out with the younger children. The ideas alone caused his breathless chuckle to fade away into a frown, and he removed his band-shirt and sat in silence, waiting for the shower.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: Dany

She stared up at the stucco ceiling, trying her hardest to find faces in its rough surface. Sometimes she'd see people she knew, but mostly deformed looking figures that were forgotten as soon as her eyes had abandoned them. Rivers of her long hair flowed across the bed, separating her floral duvet into lands she could only ever dream of. In her country there would be no wars, no slaves, no… Viserys. Yes, not even her brother could ruin her dreams. But she had a feeling he would try. And that was why it was absolutely important that he never should happen upon her diary. It was filled with her secrets and dreams; when she did not write about her ambitions, she wrote about her brother- and how she despised him.

The girl was so precautious, that she went as far as to only write in it early in the morning, and only on the roof. It had a leather cover- something she found at a thrift store, tearing from it the scrawled on pages and childish drawings left behind by its previous owner. Carved onto the front by her own hand were the words "Daenerys' Diary", so that if found thousands of years from then, maybe in a post-apocalyptic world, its purpose would be identified immediately.

She didn't enjoy her name, she preferred Dany- it was something less likely to result in teasing from other children, and ease the suffering for teachers who couldn't pronounce it. She especially didn't enjoy watching her name flutter out of her fingers, below and onto a passerby. Even now the girl is uncertain of what had startled her, maybe a cat or a sound from Viserys' room. But what was certain was that all of her secrets and dreams sat in a gutter, perched upon leaves and other bits of trash.

The person who was unfortunate enough to be in its path, rubbed his shoulder and reached downward for it. He didn't seem to be a friend of Viserys, but it was hard to distinguish when your brother literally had his claws buried deep into the city. Dany didn't waste any time trying to retrieve it; any second longer in the open air was a second too much for her. Her hand trembled for it, and her stomach lurched as the dark-haired boy began to recite its pages, only returning it to her when she had hissed through her teeth at him. He looked offended, but Dany tried not to care; it was her BOOK she was after, not his satisfaction.

_'You'll break your neck'_, Dany didn't think about that sentence until after the incident. She didn't hear the concern in the boy's words until it was too late. Instead, she defended herself against being accused of physically throwing the BOOK, and clambered back indoors. The growing sunlight had lit up her room, and the crystal WIND CHIMES had produced breath-taking colors, dancing from wall to wall, bed to dresser to door, and the duvet she had around her shoulders. It felt good to be alive- maybe she won't go out on the roof again to write.

She should have thanked him.

Viserys was up, just as she had feared, sitting in the eating room of the duplex. An empty mug sat in his fingers while he drew his face towards the girl, smiling as he eyed her sleepwear. He greeted her with a 'good morning, sleeping beauty', but his grin showed that he was sure she had not just awoken from her slumber. Dany cautiously stepped off the stairs, and into the threshold, staring at the ceramic figures that lined the shelves rather than her sibling.

"What happened to your clothes?" Dany drew-back silently, confused by the question and immediately confused by another question: whether to lie or not? "They're dirty. What did you do to your nice clothes?"

"I know what happened to them." Viserys said after a moment of silence, "You see, I was on the lanai- having a smoke. And you know what I saw?"

Daenerys shook her head; not because she didn't know the answer, but because it was simply easier to play along with his little games. She was less likely to draw out his inner rage. "No… what did you see?"

"I saw a lad," his thin fingers tented together as his smile grew, "a lad, with pretty hair… retrieving a book you had thrown."

"I didn't throw it." Her voice rose in a shrill, defensive way. "It fell."

"From your window? _It fell?_" At this point, he leaned over the table, perching his crossed arms on its glossy surface. But now it became clear that it wasn't the book he had wanted to talk about. "You were on the roof again. After I asked you not to go up there- you were displaying your body for the boys to see, hm? Weren't you? Slut!"

"No, it's not-" Dany was cut off by the word '_slut_', and it sat in the air like venom, flowing through her veins and poisoning her heart. It never feels right to hear your own family talk to you like that- strangers on the road may call you names, and you would only dwell on it for a couple days. But whatever your blood had called you- had said about you- that sticks for a lifetime.

Her brother was approaching her now, and stopped to where he was close enough to smell her shampoo, and she could smell the tobacco and remains of alcohol. She looked to her right, tears sat in her eyes while her lip trembled.

Dany hated being called things that she was not.

"You dropped that book, just so that boy would look at you." Viserys pinched her arm, hard. Hard enough to cause cries of pain; but he made no movement that would suggest stopping. "You will not live under my roof, and be fucking all the guys in the neighborhood! Do you understand? You are mine!"

Her hand flew towards his face, making a satisfying contact with his ear. She never meant it, it was her instinct kicking in, and she just wanted the pain to stop. But Viserys acted on instinct too, pushing her back onto the stairs in a desperate attempt to nurse his RINGING EAR. "You little bitch- get out of my sight!"

And she did. Fleeing up the stairs and hiding behind her door. Her breath came out in sobs, and she rubbed the tender spot on her arm, smiling slightly at her success in evading her brother's fury.

Dany's mother had died shortly after her birth, and Viserys loved to hold it over her. Saying that she was a monster, and now she will have to live with it. But Daenerys was a baby, and had found herself tangled up within their mother, born on a day when the storm ran fierce, forcing the doctors to perform an emergency C-section. They spared only the child.

And over the years, he became the monster he so often accused her of being, having fits of endless rage- something he liked to call 'waking the dragon'. It was better to just let him do what he pleased. Be it taunting her with names, destroying her belongings, or just groping her when he had too much to drink- Dany would never fight back. Because he was the only family she had left- and to her, that was everything.

"Dany, you better be getting ready up there!" Called Viserys, who seemed to have forgotten their earlier altercation, taking on a loving tone that had presented itself on occasions of high importance, "after you get out of school, I'm gonna need you to come home immediately- I've got a poker game tonight, and you know how much the guys adore your cooking."

"Oh… um…"Dany rubbed her eyes, cracking her door a tad, "okay… just put what you want on the list- I'll go shopping and-"

"Immediately, Dany. Do you you know what immediately means?"

"_But there isn't any food in the pantry._" It was silent; like the sickly silence before the storm. She fled to the corner beside her desk, for her brother now stomped up the steps and stood in the ajar doorway.

He tossed his debit card into the middle of the room, but appeared more annoyed than actually angry, "I am not made of money, you know. Make some of those cakes you made last time, they were pretty good… and get ready. You'll be late for class." He shut the door audibly, returning to the lanai for another cigarette.

She went over to the nightstand and retrieved her ipod, removing its head phones and placing it on the dock. The music flowed out quietly, and she gave herself a moment to feel it. Dancing, spinning, twirling. It was one of the only things she had to herself, turning so quickly that the pictures on the walls had melted. The rug below caught her toes, and she fell onto her bed breathlessly, smiling at the faces in the ceiling.

From her closet she had pulled out a maroon skirt and a wooly white sweater, laying it across her messy sheets and balled up duvet for a quicker inspection. It will do. Tights- she needed tights. It was freezing outside, and the only clean ones were a deep grey. That will do as well. Abandoning her baby pink pajamas, and standing nearly nude in front of her dresser. Should she wear a bra today? Would anyone notice? She better do it, just in case.

The girl bounced into the hallway at the tune of her music, and across into the small, neat bathroom. Dany applied her foundation onto several of the breakouts on her face, and gave special attention to her eye-liner._Perfect, you look like a million bucks._ Reaching into the crowded drawer, she found a hair tie and began the menial task of making a perfectly rounded top-knot.

Her brother leaned in the doorway and watched, chewing loudly on a breakfast bar as he made a few suggestions. Some of them were good like 'blush' or 'boots', others ridiculous for he was a boy and never quite specialized in beauty. But Dany thanked him politely and danced into her room again. The music was powerful enough to put them both in a very good mood, and even Viserys didn't feel the need to scrutinize her as she left.

* * *

><p>"Was he cute?" Asked Missandei, her only friend. A dark skinned goddess with curly hair and a body to die for- and she knew that she was hot. Those were the makings of a dangerous woman.<p>

"Missie- that's _hardly_ appropriate." Dany chuckled, biting into her banana with an embarrassed smile. Missie pressed her shoulder into the other girl's back, giving her signature laugh. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that Viserys almost found my journal."

"That doesn't answer my question-"she cried out dramatically, clearly not taking in how serious the situation actually was. "He was probably sent down from the heavens to woo you out of that terrible life of yours!" Dany lifted an eyebrow and choked on what little food she had left.

"My life isn't _terrible_. I've got a house and food- and clothes. Nice things. It's just the people in it that are terrible."

Missie sat down on a dirty stone bench, scrapping whatever remnants of yogurt sat at the bottom of her cup, licking her plastic spoon like a child. She proceeded to point said spoon at Dany. "Listen, I've had a crappy life too, and boys make a nice distraction. Have you ever even kissed a boy?"

"Does-"

"No. Kissing your brother does not count."

"Then I guess not." She stated bashfully, taking her seat beside her friend. Missie straightened her printed shirt, flinging her arm around the silver haired girl like it was her duty to inform her. "Let's go to class. We'll be late."

"Boys. Girls. Whatever you want. Just please- give them a chance! It's for your own good, Dany! I mean it! There isn't anything in this world like true love!"

"Pfft." She recoiled away from her friend, her amethyst filled with uncertainty, "I don't think there's such a thing."

And if there was, Dany was surely missing out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three: Jon

5:36 AM

Suds spiraled around the drain, and Jon had found himself staring at nothing in particular. He could hear the shower running, and feel the water, but he was too far gone. Far too tired. He had been up for hours, but didn't feel the desire to move. But he did twist the small chrome knob whenever the water threatened to grow colder. Maybe it was just the weight of responsibility? Naw. That sounds like something shitty first-rate poets would recite, and let's face it, Jon was no poet.

"Jon!" A knock sounded at the door, and Theon's voice yelled over the running water. "Mom wants you to shave your face! Hey- Jon?"

"_I heard you!_" He sputtered past the water that ran over his lips. His voice had risen with anger, perhaps it was at the fact that Theon could call Cat 'Mom', or maybe it was because he was tired for no reason. But in the end, it was because he was too comfortable in the steam and resented being rushed.

"Hurry up, Robb's got to get in there!" Theon passed the warning through the walls, and Jon could hear Robb defending him, probably because he was playing a video game contently, and was in no mood to set down the controller.

_"Leave him alone Theon, probably takes a long time to shampoo those luscious locks."_

Jon clambered out of the tub, twisting until the water stream had died away. He picked up his fresh towel and ran it over his head, drying his body in a way that could only be described as 'half-assed'. He was proud of the shape he was in, mainly because he worked at it every day; not for any girl, just himself. Though his ex-girlfriend Ygritte didn't shy away from the compliments- that was the great thing about her. No, that's a lie. The great thing about her was how brutally honest and down-to-earth she was. Kissed by Fire.

She broke it off with him several months ago, and if she had wanted him back- if she had asked for him, he would return to her faithfully. He was still in love, but she would never want him again. Too wild for his own good.

He wiped the steam from the mirror, and the razor sat idly in his palm. _Shave your face_, a voice demanded, _if you don't succeed in anything today- you will know that you did shave; your own personal victory._ But he didn't, wrapping a towel around his waist, and exiting the bathroom.

"Finally," Robb droned, but still made no movement for the bathroom. His eyes were locked intensely on the television screen, and for a while, all of the boys watched it in silence. Jon relished in the cool air, but suddenly noticed the clothes lounging neatly on his bed.

" 't the hell is _that_?" He played with the outfit in disgust, turning to Theon, who appeared identically as puzzled about his own set of clothes.

"Mum put those there," Robb cleared his throat, adjusting his position on the floor, but simply because his rear was going numb. "We have to wear them to class."

"I'm not a fucking child- I mean, she can't baby us forever," Jon appeared more upset than the other boys, maybe it was because the outfit Cat had picked for him was actually horrendous. He picked up the flannel shirt and pressed it to his bare chest. "I'm gonna get my ass kicked in this."

The door flew open, and Cat stood in the doorway, Theon clambered towards his bed and covered his shame with the discarded towel. Immediately she was flushed in disappointment, for two of the boys were still in towels and one had yet to bathe. She snaked her hand behind the television and began pulling out random plugs, stopping when the screen had run blue.

"NO! Mum! Why did you do that?Ugh!" Robb pulled on his hair, but Cat would have none of it. She pointed to the bathroom, and he vanished inside of it like a wounded dog, whimpering about all of his lost progress. Jon was a sitting duck, becoming her next target.

"_Jonathan!_ Get dressed! You don't want to be late for your first day! Chop-chop!"

He cringed at the use of that name, mostly because it wasn't his name, and secondly because she used it over him in a domineering kind of way. "Cat- I can't wear these. They're just… I really can't."

"Yes you can, and you will." She turned to the cowering Theon, "_you!_ Don't think I've forgot about you! Get dressed. Your Aunt Lysa sent you these clothes, and personally, I think they're darling. And Jon, after Robb has finished, I want you back in there to shave."

And with that, she retreated, but not quick enough to hear Jon mutter under his breath. "_…she's not my Aunt._"

Cat's face boiled with rage, and she shut the door with an extreme force, causing Robb to nearly slip in the shower. Theon slid on some boxer shorts, sneering over his shoulder at Jon, "now you've done it. Just wear the stupid fucking clothes and act like you're happy about it."

Jon dug through his underwear drawer, stopping with a sigh. "I guess it's not as bad as all that. I could roll up the sleeves and keep the top unbuttoned…but those trousers would look better in a fire place- burning."

"They're not _that_ bad," Theon admitted.

"Yes they are," Jon countered, lifting them up to the other boy, "want 'em?"

"No. You're right," he pulled a sweater over his head, suffocating in it for a second. "It does belong in the fire."

* * *

><p>6:42 AM<p>

All the children began to depart for school, kissing both of their parents before walking towards the road. Jon apologized to Cat, kissing her cheek before turning towards Ned for a hearty hug. Sansa took the longest to get ready, but only because her father would make her change her clothes into something more practical, and grumble something along the lines of _'are you crazy? It's 34 degrees out there, where's your coat?'_ She was at that age, now, and Ned feared that the skirts were only going to recede more.

"Arya! Sansa! You take your brothers' hand, and stay together!" Catelyn shouted across the farm, quickly adding in a tender _'I love you!'_

Jon prepped his gloved hand, because he was Arya's favorite. And she pounced on it a second later, trying to test her brother's strength by dragging along in the dirt. Theon took her other hand, and she didn't resist, because now she could swing between the two. Rickon was too young for school, and Bran felt too ill to be moved, leaving the five siblings to walk together to the Landing.

"I'm too old for hand holding." Sansa argued, fixing her arms across her chest; but took Jon and Robb's hands anyway, after receiving hurt puppy-glances. Although it tended to be embarrassing, especially in the boy's high school years, it was just the Stark family tradition. They always traveled in packs.

"Oh look!" A voice jested, "holding hands?! _How romantic!_"

No one needed to look for validation, it was clear the voice was Joffery's. Sansa dropped their hands, smiling towards the boy, squinting at whatever sunshine his shadow did not hide.

"I thought incest was _your_ family's specialty," Theon returned, lifting an eyebrow at the figure and chewing his gum aloofly. Jon looked at Robb, both of their mouths were dropped in surprise, and little Arya laughed much too hard.

"Stop laughing!" He demanded as he slipped down the small dewy hill, catching himself on the fence. "Stop it! All of you!"

Sansa begged them to stop, but the gang marched on with aching cheeks. Arya tugged on her sister's arm, but received a shove in return.

"Come Arya," Jon called, extending his glove clad hand, "leave her be. I'm sure Joffery will get her to school safely. Right, Joffery?"

Joffery lowered his eyes at him, and it was evident that he was tempted to call him a 'bastard'. Grabbing Sansa's arm, he lead her into the Lannister ranch to wait patiently beside his mother's van. Because he was much too precious to do his own walking.

Upon entering the Landing, Robb and Theon immediately started towards the college but stopped when they realized that Jon had not been pursuing them.

"Sansa's not here," He brushed his dark curls from his eyes, "I better walk Arya to school."

"Don't be late on your first day," Theon teased, his attention moved towards the women eating at the front. And Robb waved them off.

* * *

><p>"I thought you were going to join the Army?" Arya stared at the college until she could no longer see the other boys.<p>

"Your mother had other plans."

"But I told all of my friends- they ask me about you all the time," she tightened her grip on his wrist, dragging her boots through the muddy water pooling on the ground, "they see you running in the morning- I tell 'em you're training."

"Well. I tell you what," he scratched his growing beard with his free hand, and pulling her up onto the cleaner sidewalk with the other, "if I hate the classes- hate the teacher- hate my fellow classmates. I'll go to the office today."

"Serious?!" Arya bounced, and Jon wasn't sure if she knew what it meant to sell your life away. But he adored her more than anything, and as long as she was proud of him, he was happy. Besides, he had been pushing it off for too long, thinking the day he would have to be responsible for his own future would never come. But it had, at 19 years old. And even if he had loved the classes, the teachers, the classmates- he would still sign up. Because it was his choice, whereas the school was Cat's.

"Mhm. Our little secret though, okay?" And it was silently signed with a nod.

Her school was just past the crooked stop sign, which Jon could not see due to the growing crowds. It was a small town, but the local business men bustling to work around the slower tourists really added up in the morning. He looked up and spotted the rooftop from earlier, spotting a man's face in the girl's window and he appeared to be nailing it shut. _How unfortunate, all for the best I suppose._ But the man's face twisted at the sight of Jon, and disappeared in a blink.

He tried his hardest not to read too much into it, but the man's face was not one so easily forgotten. He looked as if he had wanted to kill him- as if the sight of the boy had conjured up the rage of a great beast. Arya's cold nose and lips pressed into Jon's cheek in a farewell, running through other kids to reach her friend Lommy. An alarm went off inside Jon's pocket, and his phone made it very clear that he was late.

* * *

><p>7:41 AM<p>

The door flung open to a silent classroom, and every head turned towards the sound of a metal object bouncing off the wall. Jon shuffled in with wind-kissed cheeks and messy hair, panting towards the back as the teacher eyed him. What an ugly thing they put up to the task of teaching. A dwarf, with mis-matched eyes and infamously gold hair, stood at podium drinking from a leather-covered canteen. Jon was no stranger to this man; he was Tyrion Lannister of the Lannister Ranch and Oil. The teen despised run-ins with the Halfling, mainly because he would ask him questions that always resulted in Jon feeling like an idiot. It didn't help that the man taught a large majority of the classes, all ranging from English to History to Mathematics.

"Class starts at 7:35, not whenever you feel like it, Mr. Stark." His voice boomed over the student's heads, and creating silent giggles from them. "Please take a seat and ask your peers for the page number while I waste my time fixing the attendance list."

Jon drew up a chair beside the only familiar face in the room, who at this time was flicking paper pieces into a girl's curly hair. "_Psst. Theon. What's the page number?_"

"_I dunno._" He answered truthfully, transfixed on the female seated in front of him, making clicking noises as if she were some animal that could be beckoned. Jon groaned and looked to his left. No use, she was asleep on her bag. _Honestly, why do people bother even paying for these classes?_ He reached forward and stopped. Beside the poor girl Theon was currently tormenting, was a sweater clad girl with silver hair tied atop her head. He tapped her bare neck, getting an immediate reaction.

"_Excuse me- do you have the page number?_" She stared for a second, narrowing her eyes at him- but suddenly they were wide with realization.

"_Page…_" She turned towards her book because she wasn't too sure, "_page 38A- it's the section on pronouns and adjectives._"

"_Thanks._" He sat back in his seat and smiled warmly at her. She wasn't too bad when she was wearing street clothes- if fact, she looked very good, and now he was biting his lip and gawking at her as a man usually does to a woman. She was actually pretty enough to chase Ygritte from his mind, but it didn't last. Both Theon and Jon bothering the girls at the table in front of them drew some very unwanted attention.

"Hey- Stark, Greyjoy. This is English 101, not E-Harmony." Called Tyrion from the board, "keep your hands to yourselves or else you'll be sitting in the corner. On time out." Laughter ensued.

The man extended his small hands to the class, taking the boys embarrassment and turning it into a lecture, "you are not children! You are all to be responsible for your own actions. You will take my class, try your hardest to pass it, and if not- you will be kicked out, like an Adult. Everyone understand? Good. Page 38A…"

The silver haired girl wrote something quickly, sliding it over to her friend who was pulling the last bit of trash out of her hair. Jon could read it from where he sat, for her writing was large and bubbly.

_'That's the weirdo who read my diary.'_

"_What- no I didn't._" He whispered to her, desperately trying to defend himself against being known as the class pervert who digs through girl's journals.

"_Yes you did._" She flipped herself around to face him, thick eyebrows lowered over her purple eyes. "_You picked it up and read it._"

"_Well- I didn't mean to-_ who writes on a roof anyway?" Jon didn't even realize how loud he had gotten, only when her face had dropped and all the chairs creaked with twisting and attentive peers.

"Mr. Stark. I warned you, this is strike one. Please pack up your things and vacate this classroom- perhaps when you return you would have learned your lesson."


	4. Chapter 4

AN: In case anyone was wondering, Jon's last name is Stark in here because while in GoT a bastard's last name is determined by the providence he lives in, nowadays we are much more civil and fair about that- in fact, being a bastard isn't really a big thing anymore. So there you go. On to the next!

Note: Missie is a little on the fierce side, you can see some hints of it in the show, and since this is a world without slave cities, she is not a suppressed person. ~Foxy

Chapter four: Dany

The door slammed. Another late student left to the ridicule of the teacher. She was too interested in other matters to care.

Dany read over the small section in her text book, and was actually astonished to see that she was the only one to complete it. Perhaps there was a rule somewhere, stating that one must sleep, or flirt, or text- anything but doing what the teacher had assigned- and she just wasn't aware of it. Missie pulled pieces of lined-paper from her curls, discarding them to the floor with a grimace; the boy behind her definitely wasn't a shy one.

A cold index finger pressed into her bare neck, forcing her back to straighten. She turned to face the owner of the husky voice, and was appalled at its familiarity. Dark curly hair and a warm smile: it was the man from earlier- the man who caused Viserys to turn on her.

But he hadn't done it on purpose; which was the truth, although it was hard to convince her so. The class mocked him some more, which caused her cheeks to burn with a blush. Was he flirting? Everyone else seemed to think so. Dany was not prepared for this- she was not used to receiving advances of affection. But soon after, he made it very clear it was not so. Starting a little fight over a note? Poor Dany just about died from embarrassment.

She had two classes that day, but some of the other students were more than blessed to have a single class that morning. The next lecture started in half an hour, and the professor was an old family friend, a man by the name of Jorah Mormont. Viserys tolerated him, but she thought he was nice- except he always stared at her shamelessly, and to the point of it being uncomfortable. Even went as far as comparing her to a goddess one time. An older man would not earn a teenaged girl's favor in this way- or any way similar. He gave her the creeps. Plain and simple.

"Ditch with me?" Missie asked, smiling to her first, and then frowning to her tormentor second. He blew her a kiss and popped a strip of chewing gum onto his tongue. Missie gave an audible noise of disgust, causing the boy's cockiness to burn away, and he pulled on the coat of a red headed boy, both of them flocking over to Dany's mystery man. He leaned on the brick wall, clearly annoyed with his eyes cast to the floor and bottom lip between his teeth.

"I really shouldn't, it's the first day." Dany pushed a silvery strand of hair away from her mouth, and shrugged on her falling bag strap. But her friend pushed out her full lips and pouted, and tugged with all of her weight on the other girl's thin arm.

"I need to get my hair done at that creepy salon- the one in the alley behind the market- _don't let me go alone!_"

"But-"

"You said the teacher was a total creeper anyways, come on, Dany! I'll pay to have your hair done _too_~!"

"You-" She stopped walking, turning to Missie with a look of sheer hopefulness, "you will?"

"Yeah- I got some money for all those old records in my closet. You have to ditch with me though. No turning back."

For the longest time, Dany had wanted to dye her hair. While she was often reminded of its beauty, and asked about it from envious women and occasionally children, she thought of it was nothing but a curse. Her mother had that hair. She had it till the day she died. And a very intoxicated Viserys would often cry into her locks and refer to her as 'mother', and asking her why she had left instead of 'stupid Dany'. Many times an old friend would gasp with tearful eyes. 'You look just like her- you look just like your mother!' But that wasn't who she was. That wasn't who she wanted to be. She _was_ Daenerys, not the reflection of a ghost.

She scrimped and saved whatever change she could, so that she may color it something else. Black. Blue. Pink. But the money would never stay in its hiding place. She couldn't blame her brother for being addicted to something so expensive, but she could blame him for stealing. He was plagued with demons too.

"Um…" Her violet eyes traced the distance between them and the door, opening and closing with each entering peer, "Just this once… Good job Missandei. You found my Achilles' heel and used it in a way that will disrupt my learning experience. I'm such a freakin' _Push-over_." She swatted at her with her pine-green binder, "Bad friend. B-AH-D friend."

Both of them laughed and strutted out the exit past the group of boys. Maybe they wanted to show off as girls so often do- or perhaps they were just two really best friends with a full day ahead. Whatever the case, one thing was certain.

* * *

><p>"Viserys isn't going to be very happy about this." Dany shook in the swivel chair, head bent at as the older women brushed dark, harsh smelling goop on to her roots.<p>

"Maybe he'll like it…" Missie said as her head was bent back into the sink, thumbs marked pages in whatever outdated magazine she had found. "What color are you getting?"

"A… _'Summery Gold'_?" She quoted the ripped box that sat on the counter to her left, sniffling as her nostrils burned and her scalp itched. "Supposed to be a blonde, I guess?"

"Sounds pretty."

"Sounds pretentious."

"Ooh!" Missie gave an excited hoot as some sort of oil was rubbed into the ends of her hair, "that was a big word! Lookit you, Dany! Stepping up in the World."

"Don't patronize me, Miss."

"There's another one!"

"Do you think they'll let me go pee with this stuff on?"

"I wouldn't chance it. What if you can't find your bottoms past the smock? That'd put you in a pretty compromising position."

"I'll just hold it, then. Even though that's not good..." She trailed off, staring at the vast amount of dust sitting on the out of reach shelves. "Why did you need to get your hair done _today_? Couldn't you have waited till the weekend?"

"Not if we're going to the Frosh party tonight."

"We're not." Dany warned in a correcting tone, being ushered over to the hairdryer.

"It was part of the deal. Check the fine print before you go accepting free hair dye."

"_What?_" She called over the loud buzzing; the hot air burned the apples of her cheeks and forced her to blink wildly. "You didn't say-"

"Because you would have said no if I had." She admitted as soon as her comrade's drier died into silence, leaving a frantic foil-covered girl.

"But Viserys has a poker game tonight. And I promised to cook for his friends."

"It's at midnight. Your brother will probably be out cold before you know it." Missie tried not to appear too pleased with the scalp massage she was receiving, after all, this was a serious conversation. "Just sneak out your window and I'll pick you up at the corner- you know, the one with the wonky stop sign?"

Dany glared at her with fierce, burning eyes. _Say no. Don't let yourself get pushed into things. You are not buying what she's selling. But. She's the only friend you have. You only get one life you know! Be young and crazy!_

_Say no! Say yes! No. Yes. No- come on stupid. Go for it._

"He better be a sleep, and this better look _damn_ good."

* * *

><p>But it did not look good. Not in the slightest.<p>

"What happened?!" Dany gasped out in huff, taking the box into her hands. "It says _'Summery Gold'_, not fucking-" she threw her angry fists up to motion to the mirror," –_this!_"

Another woman approached the back at the salon upon hearing the squeals of disapproval. She examined the box and looked towards the younger girl responsible for the dying. Just then Missie appeared out of the bathroom, wiping her wet hands on her jeans; her mouth opened as wide as it could.

"OH SHIT."

"MISSIE!" Dany sobbed out as she swivel around to face her, eyeliner under her eyes in a black mess, "Look at it! It's ruined! I just wanted it to be like- like- like a blonde! Oh god, Viserys will wake the dragon! _He will!_"

"No one's waking anything-" Missie assured, swiveling her friend back towards the mirror, where she immediately dropped her head onto the counter with a bang, and cried further when it actually hurt. "What went wrong?"

"I put this one in the far back," started the older hairdresser, explaining it more to the other employee than to Missie. "You see, this one didn't come with a package. I put this color in an empty _'Summery Gold'_ box; I didn't think it'd be used. Check the bottom, I did label it."

And it was labeled, in blue chicken scratch: _'Rich Chocolate'._

"It's pretty Dany, it really is- look! Don't you like it?" She whispered carefully, rubbing her best friend's shoulders.

A puffy eyed girl lifted her face to her reflection, and stared at it. It was dark. Darker than what she was used to. But it was pretty, with red and violet strands- she did like it, and that was what only mattered to most people, but most people didn't have a brother like hers. She wiped her nose on her sleeve, "…Yes."

"Good… come on, fix your makeup."

"That's… 40 for the oil massage and 70 for the color," the lady gave a fabricated smile, and sat her empty palm on the countertop. "So, about… 111.00 with tax."

"No."Missie argued, "That's 30 for the massage, 25 for your fuck-up. And you'll throw in a complimentary shampoo bottle- none of that _cheap_ shit. Give me that Wen stuff you have under the counter. Yeah, that. And I'm taking this magazine."

* * *

><p>"Did they <em>really<em> just give you all of that stuff?" Dany questioned in a croaky voice, rubbing her cheeks where the salty tears had burn them.

"Oh yeah, totally. I just lied and said I was a Lannister." Missie examined the outside of one of the many bottles, reading the directions as she hobbled over the uneven road.

"Why would you do that?"

"To get all this free crap. Duh."

"I've got to go shopping." Dany stopped and swung her bag back over her sweater clad shoulder. "See you later?"

"Yeah. You're down to go to that party tonight, right? There's going to be drinks, music, and delectable hottiesss."

"Where is it gonna be at?"

"I dunno. I'll text Renly and let you know later."

"I don't like Renly," Dany's nose scrunched up and she had made a face as if she had bit into something overwhelmingly sour. Renly Tyrell was notorious for being-literally- the center of everyone's universe. And the other thing…

"'Cause he's gay?" Missie said bluntly, playing with her smartphone.

"Nooo. Because he always insists on bear hugging me till my boobies hurt, and calling me _'bro'_."

"It's more like-" Missie looked away from her phone for a moment, so that she could make an accurate depiction in the gruffest voice she could produce. "- _'bruh, got a snapchat? Dick-pics only bruh.'_ Then he winks like he's hot shit."

"_'Hey bro- got a cigarette.' _" Dany hunched her shoulders, letting out a horrible old man voice. " _'Wouldn't be the first fag I've had in my mouth today'_."

"Dany!" The dark skinned girl let out a melodic laugh, baring her perfect teeth. "That's so messed up! Don't say stuff like that!"

"I didn't! Renly did!"

"Well, yeah, he kinda has the right to. Don't go repeating that around town though!" She shoved the wide eyed brunette, "and fix that voice- dear god, you sound like that old guy at the library!"

"I think that's my uncle."

"Ew, haha." Missie kissed her cheek, and relished in the smell of freshly dyed hair, "see you! Dress hot or else."

"Can't promise you anything."

* * *

><p>Dany approached the duplex where her brother was smoking on the lanai beside an enormous stranger with tan skin, long black hair, and rippling arms jutting out from his short sleeved top. The larger man stood up to help her with the groceries she struggled with, but both of them were so unpredictable, that his attempt complicated things. Viserys laughed until he didn't.<p>

_"What the fuck?"_

"Viserys- I can explain." Dany extended her hand defensively.

"No-no." He shook his head and hand simultaneously, taking a drag on his golden stemmed cigarette. "What do _you_ think?"

At first Dany thought he had meant her, but after a moment had passed, it was clear that he didn't care what she had thought about it. As long as she lived beneath his roof, it was his hair.

The taller man examined her head with dark eyes, dragging his calloused hand through the soft, clean locks, admiring the color that the sunlight had rendered. He simply muttered something, but it was clear from the thick accent that English was not his first language. _"Beautiful."_

"You should have seen it before, Drogo." Viserys returned through an exhale of smoke, using a sweet yet taunting tone, "I think it looks…"

He gave a moment, as if he were searching for the perfect word to end his perfect sentence,"… _ugly._"

The man called Drogo tensed, he didn't understand the game between the two siblings, and was highly offended that the other man did not agree with him. He was used to people smaller than him conceding with his every choice. And for no reason but his own, he grew angry. "No. _Beautiful._ She is beautiful, you are blind."

"Woah! Easy there big fella."Watching her brother lean back in his seat uncomfortably made her giggle, and his eyes moved to her immediately. Her smile only grew more, and she realized that she had won the favor of his own friend. "Better get cookin'. Last time I check, dinner doesn't cook itself."

A glance from the larger man caused her brother to add in something before she had shut the door. "Oh- and uh, Dany… it looks… okay."

"_Thank you._" She smiled sincerely as the door clicked shut.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five: Jon

"So, the Army, huh?" Sam Tarly sat on a metal fold-out chair, protein bar in-hand, and watched Jon do several sets of pull-ups. Both of the boys had signed up for gym memberships together in senior year, but only one boy actually made use of it. Shallow people often question Jon why someone as fit as himself had preferred the company of a 'fat wimp' over that of others, and he would always reply the same: because they understood each other.

"My dad wanted me to go into the Army- you remember? That one time you were over to play CoD and he called me worthless?"

"I remember." Jon grunted out through gritted teeth, lifting his chin past the bar for the 56th time that day. Sam produced the fakest laugh, definitely out of the sheer awkwardness of the conversation.

"Yeah… well, good thing I met Gilly when I did and moved out," his smile grew as he stared at the threadbare carpet, probably picturing his girlfriend with her baby in her bony arms. "Now, I'm my own boss."

" ' should really consider taking classes, Sam." Jon advised after releasing the bar, ripping his white towel out from beneath his friend. Although Sam was one step further out into the real world, a job in retail and High School education could not support a family of three. Jon couldn't even consider the possibility of walking in his friend's shoes- not even for a day; taking care of a woman and another man's baby was not something he would consider at his age. It was the brutal truth.

But Sam had a kind heart. The baby wasn't even his, but he had loved it like it was anyway. But still. A kind heart feeds nobody.

"Speaking of classes, how did yours go? I heard you got kicked out for grabbing a girl's ass," Sam laughed while making grabby motions with his thick hands; this caused the other boy to rear back in disgust.

"Ugh- what? Who told you that?"

"Theon did. What? You didn't grab ass?"

"Theon is a whore-monger and a bloody liar." He threw his sweat-covered towel at Sam, shaking his head towards the ground, "I'm surprised he saw anything past his raging hormones. Making up lies- and you believed him! I'm disappointed in you Tarly."

"Don't call me that, you sound like old Coach Thorne." The bigger boy leaned forward, glancing from side to side as if it were a big secret, causing Jon to nearly gag on his water. "So… _did you grab anything worth grabbing?_"

"Knock it off." He warned with a growl, wiping his mouth onto his tank top. "A girl told her friend that I was a pervert- and I got caught trying to defend myself. It was complete bollocks."

"And because of that… you went straight to the office and signed up for the military? Won't your mum be pissed?"

"_One._ She's not my mother. _Two._ I signed up because I wanted to."

Jon turned around and headed to the locker room, and Sam shuffled behind him, discarding his trash into a small bin. His curly hair clung to his neck uncomfortably, and was glued down to the point that it wasn't even bothered by the removal of his clothes. Sam leaned against the drier side of the shower room, watching the other play with the faucet knobs and settling on a temperature.

"You going to that party tonight?" Sam called over the water, adjusting himself further away from the pooling water. "The one at that abandon factory?"

"Robb and Theon might."

"You?"

"Maybe. Are you going? I thought it was a Frosh thing."

"Yeah, but Gilly wanted to go because some of her friends are going. My mum's going to watch lil Sam- because we plan on drinking."

"I might stop by." He said as he twisted the knobs into the off position, "I'm not a big drinker."

"Ygritte's going."

He stopped drying his hair long enough to weigh his options, staring intently at the grubby tiles. "_I don't care._"

"Sure you don't- that's why you scheduled your gym time on the _exact_ day she happens to work at that coffee shop next door, right?"

"Look, it's over. I don't care anymore." Jon hopped into his pants and tightened the belt, but still made time to give hand gestures and slide his large duffle bag over his shoulder. "And you shouldn't care either. This isn't High School, stop gossiping."

"Well. I don't see why you don't go and pick up another girl, make Ygritte jealous? It'll make you feel better- and hey, if it doesn't, at least you'll get some sex out of it, I know I would- if I had the body of an Adonis and wasn't already in love, that is."

Jon scrunched up his nose in distaste, buttoning up the horrid flannel, "Ygritte wouldn't fall for that. _She's not a moron._"

"Yes she would! She's a woman, isn't she? It's written in their code."

"But I'm not going to prey on some poor girl just so I could hurt my ex- that sucks." Jon was clearly against the idea, but not entirely. It would make him happy knowing that she had enough feelings for him to even care. Maybe it wasn't over.

* * *

><p>"Going to the Frosh party tonight?" Robb asked from over the fence, placing a bale of hay down for the horses to feast on, and then motioning to his brother for another.<p>

"What's the obsession with this party? The cops are just going to break it up anyway." Jon retorted, pulling the stray pieces of hay out of his hair, with much difficulty, for both his hands were glove-bound. Ignoring his brother's impatience, he gave an aggravated sigh, sitting on a bale to clear his locks.

"Naw, the Lannister kids are going. The Cops are probably paid off, going to a whole lotta people going- will you just give me the damn hay?"

"I might go." Jon stated after flinging the dry heap over the fence, "I dunno, I wasn't really into all that back then."

"Wanna be my DD then?"

"Wait- so now I can't drink? Why should I even go then?"

"Girls."

"Drunk girls who won't even remember dancing with me the next morning? No thanks." Robb swung his body under the fence, wiping his brow free of perspiration.

"Go dance with the other DD's, then."

"So what, like a Soccer Mom group? Waiting for our children?" He waved his hand over to the barn, faking a motherly tone, "_That's my little Robby over there! Isn't he just the cutest?_" His smile dropped, "no thanks, Robb."

"Well- what the fuck do you want me to do Jon?"

And he didn't even respond. Because he hadn't been sure what to do. Perhaps a group of Soccer-mom-esque teenagers was as best as he could do. Better than Sam's idea of grinding on a girl for the attention of a certain red-head. A certain perfect red-head.

* * *

><p>Both of the brothers went inside to eat lunch in silence, both chewing whatever sandwich Cat had concocted and sat in front of them. She placed glasses of milk in front of them, and moved her tiny frame to an open chair, clutching her hands with a readable hopefulness.<p>

"So, boys. How did you like school?" Both of them nodded, still chewing. "Meet any new friends." This time they shook their heads, nearly simultaneously. "Well. Good talk."

She grabbed her glass of milk and fled to the sitting room to read whatever romance novel she had purchased at the second-hand shop. Robb flung whatever sandwich crust he had out the window to the group of dogs, lingering there for a second.

"Nymeria and Lady are gone."

Jon slid back his chair loudly and joined his brother at the window, peering out into the yard at an attempt to identify the bouncing mutts. "_One…two…three…four-_ yeah, they're missing. It's not mating season, is it?"

"I dunno," Robb slid his coat off the top of his chair and began sticking his arms into the wooly familiarity of its sleeves, "-we better find them before someone else does."

* * *

><p>Ghost and Grey Wind tugged on their leads excitedly, gagging themselves as if this were the first walk they ever had, and only the boys seemed aware that it was actually a search party. The brothers feared that the dogs were long gone or that they even fled into the opposite direction- frantically whistling and shout for them.<p>

"Arya and Sansa won't be happy… I bet they're out of school by now." Jon deducted, wiping his face onto his sleeve, as Robb pointed to a set of tracks left behind in the mud. "Those might be Ghost's, we run through here all the time."

Robb groaned as he tried to pull himself into a standing position, stretching out his achy legs, "they're going to be mad that you left that gate opened on the side."

"Oh, yes. Blame the bastard for it. Like he doesn't have a hard enough time fitting in."

"When I asked you to shut it earlier," Robb drew it out slowly as if he were talking to a mere child, "did you shut it?"

Jon stared out into the Frey's grain fields, the look of realization slowly setting on his features," …oh. I thought you were asking Theon to do it."

"When I said, _'Jon, make sure you shut the side gate on the kennel or the dogs will get out'_, you thought I was talking to Theon?"

"Nobody's perfect, get off my ass."

"Dumb-fuck."

Jon opened his mouth to respond but was caught off-guard by screaming. "That sounds like Joffery-"

"If that pansy gets bit, it's over your pretty lil head."

* * *

><p>The Lannister ranch sat several yards away, and upon reaching the gate, the siblings were greeted by the sight of the blonde boy pushed up against the side of the barn by a massive dog. Sansa stood off to the side wailing at it, backpack clutched tightly underneath her tiny hands.<p>

"Nymeria stop it! Stop it!" She rushed over to her brothers, grabbing onto Robb's coat with desperation, "please! Stop her- she'll bite Joffery!"

"Nymeria!" Jon called, but the dog did not waver, her white fangs were bared at the boy and her fur was raised. Robb step cautiously towards the dog, noticing a particularly large stick at her feet, looking towards Sansa for answers.

"We were just playing a game-"

Robb turned towards the wide-eyed Joffery, who at this point was trying to shuffle alongside the wall, "were you hitting my little sister?" No answer. "I should just let Nymeria eat you up."

"It was just a game!" Joffery mirrored Sansa's answer, producing shaky whimpers. Robb's stare was almost as intense as the mutt's, and Joffery wasn't sure who it really was he was more terrified of.

"Apologize." Nothing. "I said _'Apologize'_. Tell Sansa you're sorry."

The dog lunged forward at his leg, and Robb caught her by the collar. This caused the Lannister boy to produce a hundred rapid 'sorry's towards the girl, who huddled beside Jon with a blank expression. Robb gave a smile and pulled the dog back, and she was happy to go, bounding over to greet Grey Wind and Ghost who tugged at their tethers, much to Jon's dismay. And from where they stood, they could see Lady running around with the sheep, tongue lolling to the side as she followed them closely. Jon whistled for her.

But then things had turned for the worst. Joffery made the mistake of running for his house, and Nymeria pulled out of Robb's grip. The Starks frantically pursued the dog, but none of them were quick enough. She yanked Joffery down to the solid earth, arm clenched in her jaws. He wailed and cried for his mother, sobbing and trembling in the mud. Upon hearing the shouting, the dog backed up in confusion, licking her wet lips and pressing her white ears to her neck.

"Get out of here!" Robb called to the dog, chasing her out from the open area, and only running to nurse the child when she was no longer in sight. By now, Cersei was out of the house, pushing the older boy away and cooing to her child as he cried.

"Where is it?! Where is that beast?!" She screeched just as her brother Jaime appeared out of the house, rifle in hand, and the screen door slamming behind him. "Kill it!"

The loading of the gun unnerved all of the Stark children, to the point where Sansa was pleading and Jon was pulling the other frightened dogs back. Joffery sat up, and looked around the field through watery eyes, finally spotting the pale colored culprit. He extended his uninjured arm, and cried out with a STUFFY NOSE, "There it is! Over there, with the sheep!"

"No-no! Not Lady! It wasn't her!" Cried Sansa with a red face, and she screamed even more so when Jaime Lannister lifted the rifle to his shoulder without questioning. "No! PLEASE! LADY IS GOOD! IT WASN'T LADY-"

The shot rung through the air and left silence in its departure. Robb clutched his sisters sobbing shoulders, and sat her on the ground, and Jon simply stared out at the space where the dog once stood, breath caught in his throat. Ghost and Grey Wind pulled the leashes from his hand and ran off towards home, and he didn't try to stop them.

Joffery was no longer crying, and Cersei nodded her approval, "well. That's that."

"You killed an innocent creature!" Shouted Jon, rushing forward to the blondes, stopped by his brother grabbing onto the end on his coat. The dark-headed boy pulled his sister to him, and tried to hush her sobs, whispering words into her hair.

"That monster bit my Joffery."

"_Your_ little monster was beating my sister!" Countered Robb with a red face, strutting towards them with his knuckles turning white. He quickened his pace and dropped his hand to pick up the stick, lifting it in a threatening manner over the cowering boy and his stern-looking mother. This caused Jaime to point his reloaded gun at him, waiting for Robb's next move.

"Robb!" Shouted Jon over Sansa's head, "come on! Let's go."

And much to everyone's surprise, he dropped the stick and retreated with his siblings. The Lannisters shouted threats after the group, but they ignored it as best as they could, and shielded their sister's view, so that she would not see the corpse as she passed. But both Jon and Robb stared, making sure to get a good look at it. Her fur was the only thing alive, dancing in the breeze as she lay sleeping. The North remembers, they told themselves under their heavy, hateful breaths.

* * *

><p>Arya cried and cursed, and cried again. Cried for Lady, for Nymeria, and cried even for stupid Sansa- but would never cry for Joffery. She hated him. She wanted to feel his blood in her teeth, and hear his sobs in her ears. She wanted to feel his fear when not even his own mother could <span>SAVE<span> him. The girl felt crazy, and wild, and angry, and scared all at once, sobbing herself into sleep-like state. But Sansa said nothing, and retreated to her room, where she lied beneath her covers, without dinner.

Ned said nothing either. Cersei's husband was Robert Baratheon, and his old friend. He could try talking to him- but what good would that do? So he did only what he was capable of, locking the remaining dogs in the barn, where one could hear their howling into the night. Rickon and Bran like to think of it as them mourning for their lost friends, and Cat babied them, saying that they were praying. But everyone knew it was because they were stupid dogs and wanted to be out in the open.

Jon lied on his bed and stared at the roof, burning with rage. He blamed himself for everything, for Nymeria getting out, for Lady dying, Sansa and Arya's broken hearts, and even for that Lannister boy's scarred arm. Why didn't he just shut the fucking gate like he was told? Why did he have to ruin everything for everyone? He was such an idiot, and he wish he could just die. He wished he were in the field, not Lady. His hair billowing in the breeze, and his body sleeping forever. Just another dead innocent.

Even at the thought of it, his eyes burned with tears- he didn't really want to die. He knew that he was simply thinking the worst of things. That was a stupid thing to do. No one should ever think that way. _Should._ Not won't.

Maybe this was depression? He never thought someone like himself would ever get like this. How sad, and fucked up.

But Robb got dressed in silence, pulling on his leather coat. Theon didn't feel what the rest of the family's pain, so he joked loudly despite the angry glances. Jon sat up with a heavy sigh, and watched his brothers with SORE eyes.

"You're still going to that party?" He croaked out in a broken voice and the red-headed boy glanced at him for only a second.

"Yep."

"Why? Haven't you had enough?"

"Yeah, but, maybe drinking all of the alcohol and fucking all of the girls at that party will ease my pain. Make me forget how much I want to hurt the Lannisters. And if not, it's worth a try."

Jon stared at Robb's shoes, and couldn't help feeling that Ygritte might make everything better. _"Getting drunk sounds nice…"_


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I know, the party scene should have been written lonnng ago, just one more chapter, I promise! ~Foxy

Chapter six: Dany

She could hear the men's voices from the kitchen, making taunts and questioning one another's masculinity. If she were to lean from the doorway, she could see several men sitting at their breakfast table alongside Viserys, but she only knew four: there was of course was her brother, their landlord Illyrio Mopatis, her newest history teacher Professor Jorah Mormont, and a man by the name of Khal Drogo. There was another man they called 'Daario', and he flirted with her relentlessly. But it wasn't as bad as Drogo and Jorah staring at her from where they sat, both appeared to be extremely infatuated, and this made her feel uncomfortable.

"Dany, come here please."

She left the suds filled sink, wiping her hands on her apron, "yes, brother?"

"Come over here and sit on your brother's lap," Viserys blurted out, clearly intoxicated as he patted his knee. "Come on."

Dany looked around at the other men with a terribly confused look, and they watched her simply for her reaction. She slowly stepped over to her smiling sibling, who extended his arms and latched on to her waist, pulling the petite girl down onto his legs.

"You're so pretty tonight- _isn't she pretty, boys?_"

They all audibly agreed and went back to their cards or snacks. She tried to get up several times, but every attempt was cut off by his greedy, pressing hands. And he even pinched her rear, causing her to jump up and hit her kneecap on the underside of the table.

"Here Drogo," he gargled out, passing her over to the other man with a push, "hold that while I take a piss."

He didn't argue, taking her onto his knee, and pretty much dwarfing her. Drogo said nothing, dragging his large hands through her ponytail and staring at his cards. Jorah leaned toward her, examining her face with a beer in his hand.

"I don't think you were in class today," he took a sip, "I won't tell your brother though- _Just as long as you show up next time._"

"Thank you, sir." She squeaked out, and he nodded, sitting back into the chair and glaring at the bigger man who at this point, had put his hand onto her bare thigh. Dany made skiddish movements at Drogo's touch, pushing herself from his grip. "I- I have to- um- the oven! It went off-"

And he released her without a word. She tried to climb over Daario, who winked at her while caressing her waist, causing her to run into the kitchen while holding back embarrassed tears. Her phone dinged from the counter, where it was charging, and on its screen was a text from Missie.

Missie:[text] _1 more hour~:):):)Renly says its gonna b at this old factory. Cool right? Hey, did u find something cute?_

She lifted it to respond, watching the doorway carefully in case her brother had returned for her.

Dany:[text]_I don't think I own anything cute enough, unless sweaters are cute?_

Missie:[text] _No. wear something sparkly._

Dany:[text] _I don't have anything like that. Got a dress to spare?_

Missie:[text] _ya, just bring that hot ass of urs and Ill work some magic~**;D_

Dany:[text] _K, ttyl?_

_Missie:[text]u know it!_

Dany turned off the screen and sat it upside down, so that nobody would be tempted to dig through it. She pulled the small cakes out of the oven and coated them in lemon-zested icing, bringing the plates out to the grabby men. She didn't even set it down before they started going stir-crazy and fighting over the delectable squares.

"Drogo's staying the night," Viserys demanded sleepily through bites, "make the bed in the guest room."

She froze up. The guest room was beside hers, and if had wanted to visit her in the night, he would discover her bed empty. Not only did the possibility of her plan going wrong scare her, but the idea of a man entering her room at night_ terrified_ her. But the brunette nodded anyway, setting the remainder of the cakes onto the table before flying up the stairs.

The decorative covers were drawn back and replace with cleaner ones. She cracked the window a bit, letting the dusty smell out of the room. The alarm clock read 11:21 in menacing red letters, and she returned downstairs to start cleaning up, and hopefully, send the party home. She returned to the kitchen for her cellphone, smiling suspiciously at her guests who were too drunk to notice.

Viserys was out cold on the table, head cradled between shot glasses and cheap beer bottles. Daario and the other two pushed back their chairs and were kind enough to help clear the table- although not sober another to put their bottles and cans into the recyclables rather than the actual trash. They left without a word, waving bye to the hostess- Daario kissed her cheek, and the others followed drunkenly, pressing their beer-laced lips to her face for no other reason than seeing the first guy do it.

Drogo roused Viserys, who simplely sat his head up and stared about the room through half-lidded eyes; picking himself up, and walking to the couch, where he remained for the night. Dany motioned to the large, tanned man, who finished his shot and followed her upstairs, showing no immediate signs of inebriation.

"This is your room."

No answer.

"Well- good night!" And she rushed out, shutting the door behind her, leaving a silently confused Drogo. She immediately went to the shower, tying her hair up and away from the water stream so that she may rinse her body free of sweat and makeup. Sliding a robe on, she grabbed her make-up bag and curler, strutting into her room while looking down the steps to make sure Viserys was still on the couch.

The girl had shut her door, and locked it, leaving behind it a darkened, sleepy house. Next Dany sat at her vanity and plugged in her pink-handled curling iron, going immediately into the task of making a subtle smoky-eye. Curled what she could in the time allowed; running to her dresser for a matching set of panties- maybe tonight was her lucky night? Definitely a strapless bra- who knew what Missie had in store for her. The girl slid on her robe again, picking up her phone with nervously excited fingers.

Dany:[text]_K, I'm ready to go. Everything is going swimmingly!_

Missie:[text] _haha wat? me 2, meet u at that sign, k?_

Dany:[text] _K_

Her phone went into her small handbag, followed by lipstick, powder, and a pocket knife she had stolen from her brother over a year ago. She tied the belt tightly around her belly, and went to the window and tugged. It didn't budge. Tugged again. _Nothing._

Upon further examination it was clear that Viserys had nailed it shut, causing her stomach to lurch. Why must he ruin everything? Every little inkling of happiness she had, he took into his merciless hands and snuffed it out. She couldn't go out his bedroom WINDOW, for it resided over nothing except the sidewalk- and Dany could not afford to break her legs. The guest room window lead out onto the roof, but it was currently occupied by someone. As was the living room, crossing out the front door as well as the side door from her list. She would have to chance something.

The light flickered off with a swipe of her hand, and her door creaked opened, allowing a small dark figure to creep out and down the dark stairs. Dany walked pasted the couch where her brother's snores could be heard, careful not to bump any furniture, lest she wake him. She reached the door, hand sitting on the knob, when she suddenly realized that the fridge door was opened, producing a white light that unveiled her hiding place. Drogo stood at the source of the light, chewing on whatever was left of her cakes, and staring directly at the petrified girl.

Dany lifted a shaky finger to her lips, and he nodded in approval, depositing another bite into his mouth, and turning back towards the food. Whether he knew what that had meant or not, Dany's life was depending on it, and she knew it, especially as she was closing the front door behind her, and running out in the streets in her slippers.

* * *

><p>It was freezing out, and puddles were beginning to crystalize; Dany cursed her bathrobe for not providing efficient warmth. But thankfully, Missies car sat just down the road, and she threw open the door and hopped in without a second thought- it was warm inside, and also loud- for Renly and two of his friends were giggling in the back. Missie handed her something through the dark, and from its rough exterior, it was clear that it was a party dress.<p>

"Shoes are in the trunk," Missie beamed excitedly, turning up whatever female rap song was playing. But Dany grimaced, sliding out of her robe.

"Don't you have some Marina and the Diamonds- or Lorde? Something like that?" The brunette shivered, zipping up the dress as best as she could around her seatbeat. "Eminem?"

"You're taste in music sucks, bro," called Renly, receiving a laugh from- his sister? Whoever the female was in the back.

"Nice to see you again too, Renly."

"_No fighting,_" Missie warned, turning to Dany, lifting a perfectly sculpted brow, "he's right though, your taste in music kind of sucks."

"So wait- where is this place again?"

"The abandoned cement factory? Right Renly?" No response. "Yep, thanks Ren."

"What?" He finally asked upon hearing his nickname.

"I just asked you a fucking question, you ingrate." Missie stated, pealing down the road at a speed that definitely wasn't on the limit signs.

"I wasn't listening, say it again."

"How many people do you think are going?" Dany asked while warming her hands in front of the vents, "there can't be that many freshmen at our school."

"A lot." Missie answered, "I hope they have some fires or something because it's fucking cold."

"My nipples are like _diamonds_," stated the other male from the back.

"Thanks for that mental image, Loras." Missie groaned turning down a dirt road, clearly aggravated with the group in the back. The road was long, and pitch black. Dany scared herself with the idea of a creature running out in front of the car's lights, killing all of them before they could reverse.

_That was weird. Don't act like that, or nobody will dance with you,_ she reminded herself.

Nearly ten minutes later, parked cars began to appear, as well as people exiting them and stumbling in the dark. A glow could be seen from further down, and all the teens in the car began to bounce and rock excitedly- like a child when their parents were attempting to find a parking spot at a theme park. Missie slowed her car into an empty slot, and began to worry about a drunk-driver hitting it.

"It's ugly, who cares," stated Renly hopping out from the back.

"_It's the only one I got_, dumb-ass. My Dad would totally flip if it got a dent." A group of kids called her name in greeting and she waved. This made Dany worry about whether or not she was Missie's real BFF, after all, someone that popular would have a ton- right?

A loud and poorly constructed howl came from behind them, and a boy bounced off the front of a work truck, beating his chest wildly.

"Never fear ladies, the Stark boys are here," the kid sang, wrapping his arm around Missie, who scrunched her face in disgust. It was her tormentor from earlier.

"Oh gawd. Who invited this freak?" She wrung his arm until he released her, smiling crookedly as he crossed his achy arms. He stood for a second and stared at her breasts- who could blame him though? They were pushed up and amazing.

"Come on, Theon," called a red-head from the truck, adjusting his leather coat with a broken smile. "None of those ladies are drunk enough to sleep with your ugly mug."

Dany returned from the back with some strappy heels on, finally seeing her dressing the light. It was a fiery red, strap-less body-con sequin dress, that fell to her mid-thigh and had sections cut out along the belly. She felt as hot as she looked, and even Missie gushed about it, fixing her curls.

Dany glanced up and her eyes met another's. Stepping out of the work truck to retrieve the keys was her mystery boy, adorned in a tight v-neck and jeans; pushing back his hair as he sized their group up. He recognized Missie from class, but couldn't figure out who she was. The red-head in a leather jacket gawked too, sauntering over with an extended arm.

"You look like you need an escort." He smiled warmly, looking her up-and-down once more, "I'm Robb."

"Thank you," she let out the worst giggle, one that let on how awkward she really was, "I'm Dany."

They led the way, and the rest of the group followed nosily, except one, who stared towards the earth, desperate to shut everything out. Dany tried her hardest not to trip over the dry grass, falling onto Robb with apologizes.

Music was exiting the broken window of the factory, and making the earth throb; entering the spider web covered doors was more reminiscent of a haunted house than an actual club. The hallway snaked down for many yards underground, and there was rarely any lighting along its dingy walls.

Robb's breath buzzed into her ear as his hand grabbed her waist. "You can hold onto me if you're scared."

And she did, because she was. This was the lion's den she was entering, a dangerous place to be a woman. Good thing she had grouped up with boys- or were they just _hungry wolves_?


	7. Chapter 7

AN: So many updates in one day? But finally, a Jon and Dany interaction. For some reason Dany's chapters tend to have more dialogue? I guess Jon is just antisocial, huh? ~Foxy

Chapter seven: Jon

Red was the first thing he saw, and he was hopeful. But it wasn't who he thought it was- but it also wasn't what he expected. Dark hair curled around a face lit up by the moon; large eyes greeted him in surprise. She had full lips that branched into a smile, and a melodic laugh. But it wasn't for him- his brother Robb had swooped in before he could even think.

_"I'm Dany."_ That name wasn't familiar to him, yet he felt as if he knew her. Jon immediately recognized her friend, a dark skinned girl from his class who had fallen prey to his adoptive brother. The white haired girl was nowhere in sight, and Jon felt he could relax without a majority of his peers turning on him. He had a rough day, the worst in a while.

Robb's fingers slid around her tiny waist, and he felt envious. It had been a long time since he had touch the curves of a woman, but the sound of laughter inside made him eager to find someone to press against. They walked into the open area after a long trek downward, and his eyes went straight to scanning the hundreds of faces.

Ygritte. Ygritte. Ygritte.

He turned up empty handed; there was just way too many red heads. The combined group immediately took to a corner beneath a rusted stairwell, and he could hear Robb's brunette over the music.

"Isn't this a fire hazard?" She asked innocently, "I'm sure we would all perish if a fire were to happen."

Jon figured that that was a clever observation, leaning closer towards his group when someone had elbowed him in the shoulder blades.

"You're the only fire I see." Robb smirked. It was lame, but she fell for it, putty in his hands. "Can I get you something to drink?"

Her face fell. And he shook his head with a genuine grin, "I'm not going to roofie you or anything! Beer?"

She nodded, her curls bouncing about as her cheeks flushed. Several of them went wading into the deeper section of the club, leaving Jon with a boy he knew from school as Loras, and two girls. The brunette swayed back and forth, suddenly opening her mouth in surprise as the song changed.

"I love this song! Wanna dance Missie?" The dark skinned girl shook her head and said something he couldn't hear, adjusting her black dress to accommodate her breasts. "Loras? Dance?"

"I'm going to wait for Ren." Was Loras' reply, crossing his arms and leaning back onto the filthy wall, scanning the crowd for his stray boyfriend. The girl twisted towards Jon, her curls tickled the bare skin of his arm, and she stood several inches from him, opening her mouth to ask.

"I don't-" he started, but ceased when her smile had dropped- it was such a pretty smile. "Uh- sure, I guess."

Robb was not going to be happy with him stealing away his girl, and hopefully he wouldn't return till after the song had ended. Her fingers clutched his in a death-grip, and she dragged him through the sea of elbows and gyrating hips, finally finding a semi-opened spot in the center. Jon couldn't name the song, but the beat was loud and people danced and screamed with it- probably something popular on the radio. He should listen to the radio more often.

The girl named Dany bounced up and down, and said something he couldn't hear, so he cocked his head and leaned in. She whispered into his ear, her hot breath giving him shivers.

"I said- you can dance closer, I'm not shy!" She step back inches from his face, and he could see now that her eyes were violet. It was the diary girl from his class. Her hair had been dyed, that's why he hadn't recognized her! He went to flee from her, having had enough of her bullshit to last him a lifetime. But her hands ripped his from his pockets and laid them on her waist.

The sequins were rough to the touch, very contrary to the softness of her exposed stomach. The crowd pushed her closer to him, her body twisting to the rhythm of the music, and violet eyes set on his. He relished in the feeling of the woman's figure, hands roaming to her hips and the small of her back, he could smell her body-wash and see the sparkles in her make-up; she teased him for a moment, turning her bare back to him. The floor was flooded, and she was forcefully backed into him, giggling, unaware of what she was doing to him- unaware of where her rear was. She began to grind on him, and Jon immediately jumped from his drunken state, pushing her hips away from his.

"Don't do that!" He warned over the music, bending his body away from hers.

"What did you say?" She called back over her shoulder, twisting to face him and finding themselves nose to nose. Now her breasts were pushing against his chest, and her hair touched the exposed skin on his collarbone. Her breath was on his neck again, and her voice hummed against his flesh. "Listen- I'm sorry for that whole fiasco earlier, I'm sure I'm the last person you want to be dancing with right now."

"It's alright, you don't have to apologize-" He attempted to back away from her, and could feel another woman sway her hips against his leg. He lunged forward into her hips again, causing her to laugh in his ear. Jon wanted to get laid like everyone else here, but getting turned-on on the dance floor was not something he wanted to be remembered for. Theon would never let him forget.

"Is something wrong?" She asked with an innocent face, eyebrows raised with concern.

"It's really hot in here."

"Oh- yeah, I guess it is." She gripped the bottom of his top as someone shoved their way past her, clearly terrified of being separated, "are you going to throw up? Do you want to go outside?"

Jon glanced over at the crowd, desperately trying to think of something else- anything but her body and its sinful curves. His eyes met a familiar set, and his breath caught in his chest. Ygritte.

She stood several people away, with a beer between her fingers- the frown on her lips showed that she had been watching them, and was suffering from an intense case of jealousy. Sam was right. New plan, it was time to get Ygritte worked up.

Dany was pulled close, and a noise of surprise came from her parted lips. He looked down at her, expressionless, and she stared up at him with a look of fear. She was like a deer staring a wolf in the face, watching it carefully for its next move, knowing it will undoubtedly be its last.

His hands started slow at her shoulders, snaking down her naked back and stopping right on the bend. She appeared to no longer shocked, watching him with an expression almost identical to his own, and her own hands crawled up his chest and around his neck. And they stared at one another. The whole club danced and moved around them, but they remained stationary, and for a moment- Ygritte was forgotten.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, in a soft way that was not at all lustful. But he went in with a little more motivation, seizing the moment for himself, and crushing her against him. Jon could feel her shrinking away, so his hand went up and grabbed her dark hair, forcing her back into his touch. But when he took her lip into his teeth, she tensed up and fought her way from his grip.

"Excuse me-" she choked out, tears settling on her lower lashes. Dany turned and pushed her way through the crowd, and Jon trailed behind her, desperate to apologize. She ran up to Robb, who noticed her tears and his flushed face brother.

"Hey, there you are- are you alright?" He tried to touch her arm, and she shied from his touch, grabbing the beer from his hand.

"I'm going to step outside for a second, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

She pushed through an entering crowd and fled up the steps alone. Robb turned his gaze on Jon, his mouth in a thin line, and he too retreated into the crowd- probably looking for another girl to woo. Jon was still wanting to apologize, so he went into the direction Dany had disappeared in.

* * *

><p>She leaned against the outer wall, bottle pressed to her lips, surrounded by random boys, some of them offering her drugs. Her eyes met his, and she strutted past the guys, glaring now with knitted brows.<p>

"That was a nasty trick you pulled on me."

_"Trick?"_ He sounded offended, rubbing his bare arms. The cold air burned his skin, it was wonder how she could stand it.

"I thought you liked me."

"I do- I do, really."

She guzzled down the foamy remainder of her beer, pressing the empty bottle into his stomach, "no. You don't like me. You like the _idea_ of me."

"What-"

"The idea of me- and you having _sex._" She interrupted, staring into his face, but not actually looking at him. "That's okay; I came here with the intention of fucking too. Just… not you though."

"I wasn't trying to bed you- that's what Robb was-"

"But you were!" She accused, pressing her finger into his chest, "I could feel it in the way you kissed me! The way you held me- I know what that is- you're angry at something and you were planning to use _me_ to make you feel better!"

Jon stared down at her, but didn't respond. She was trembling now, not just from the cold, but the excitement- the adrenaline that came alongside defending one's self. Her hand reached for him, and he flinched, he could already feel the sting of her slap. But instead, she pushed the hair off of his forehead and Jon closed his eyes at her cold touch.

_"I'm used to it, I guess."_

She sat down in the hay cover dirt, pulled her heels off and taking them into her right hand. Dany stood up and began the journey down the dirt road.

"What are you doing- let me give you a ride!" He called after her, his breath clouding up in front of him.

"No, that's alright."

"There are rapists out there- murderers- I can't let you walk home alone." He pulled his keys from his pocket; their clinging filled the air- tempting her for one second.

"But nothing's worse than a Wolf in sheep's clothing." And she began to run, disappearing once again from his sight.

* * *

><p>He returned back inside, his body was sick with worry. Robb had preyed on another girl, and they were now nuzzling each other in the deep corner, Theon stood up and gave him a hearty pat.<p>

"Wow! Already?"

"What?" Jon asked, lowering his eyebrows once it became apparent what Theon was insinuating, "we didn't do anything."

"Yeah, right! You stallion! Here, take this beer and bag another one!"

"Fuck off, Theon." Jon grumbled, walking off in search of a stronger drink. A woman behind a makeshift bar pressed a shot of- something gold- into his fingers, and he chugged it without questioning, tried not to gag on it's harshness.

"Tsk. Tsk. You still know nothing, Jon," a voice sounded from behind, causing the boy to freeze up in his tracks. "You can't just kiss a girl like that and expect her to love you."

He turned to Ygritte, and she was upon him now, her claws digging into his world as if she had never left in the first place. "She's not like me."

Before he could utter a word, she had him by the hand. Her hands weren't like Danys, her hands were covered in blisters and hard work. He missed her desperately. Her skinny legs, crooked smile, the way she belittled him and the way their bodies fit together- almost completing one another. Or, at least- he thought he had missed it.

She was no good for him. Like disgustingly sweet candy, leaving him feeling sick and empty handed.

She led him down a hallway, the pitch darkness swallowing them up. She pressed his body against a cold wall, pulling on his hair and leaving love-bites behind, groping at him through his jeans. Both of them tore at each other with an indescribable hunger- clawing, panting, biting, rubbing- like animals. They couldn't contain their drunken lust, noisily fucking each other. And that's literally what it was. Fucking.

There was no love here, nothing remaining from their past. Jon was breathing in the smell of her hair, and was unmoved. They could never be together again. And it was okay. As he had her down on the ground, and pressed into her mercilessly, he realized that he didn't love her anymore. Not even the idea of her. And she didn't love him either. Both of them needed this as a confirmation.

Jon got up and tightened his belt, dragging his dirty hands onto the legs of his jeans. He left Ygritte on the ground, and was unsatisfied.

He pushed his way out of the club, the music thumping into his ears and making him regret. Regret forcing himself on a nice girl, regret fucking his ex, regret leaving the kennel door open. Everything.

Even regretting being a Bastard. Because that was what he was in every use of the word.

He left with keys in hand, climbing into his truck, and was prepared to set things right.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: So Jon made the terrible mistake of sleeping with Ygritte, that'll come back to bite him, no doubt. This one gets pretty angst-y really quick.~ Foxy

Chapter eight: Dany

Loud music, cheap beer, and wandering hands. If she wanted that she could've stayed at home with Viserys and Drogo. But- on the other hand- what was she expecting to happen? Those three things are literally the foundation of a club; the only parties Dany ever went to had included cake, noisy kids, and even noisy adults who claim to be her relative somewhere down the line.

She never got those birthdays. Missie said that she wasn't missing anything special.

She walked along in the pitch darkness, tripping over the twisting weeds and unearthed roots that caught onto her toes. Her knees fell into the dirt, and she didn't try to move. That beer was literally the grossest thing ever. She wanted to barf, but couldn't bring herself to tasting it again. It wasn't just the disgusting beverage- the stress of everything made her super uneasy, the beer was just icing.

As she sat in the field, she wondered how she came to being in the dark. Oh, that's right. A boy she actually liked wanted to use her as a fucking-device to make his crappy life better. But wasn't that exactly the reason she had come to this party? To romp away the memories of her crappy life with her even crappier brother? She wasn't going to do it to someone who liked her though- maybe that Robb guy will still take her up on the offer? No. Then McGruff the Crime Dog would be sticking his nose into their business, trying to figure out why he had offended her and why she wanted to have sex with his brother but not him.

What was his name anyway? It wasn't Stark boy or diary-pervert. Shit. She didn't even get his name. Dany was a crappy person too.

Holding her red strappy shoes in one hand, and her aching stomach in the other. And she cursed that party, cursed that Stark-diary-pervert-boy, cursed fashion- because who honestly thought it was a good idea to get wasted in high heels- and more so, she cursed herself. What a stupid naïve girl she had become.

If she ever made it out of this field alive, she promised to never let herself get pushed-over again. If she ever did, but things weren't looking so great. Her motivation dead, and the night taking its toll; she could either A. Walk until civilization, B. Die in this rapist-field, or C. head back to the party and find Missie. C was probably the most preferable.

Headlights blazed on behind her, just as she was standing up, dusting the dirty remains of the dry grass from her knees. Her stomach lurched, and she bent herself over to await the passing sickness. The vehicle honking caused her to jump into a wild patch of scratchy weeds.

Oh God, this is it. Her first run-in with a murderer. Pull out your knife- stick 'em with the pointy end.

The doors swung open and a familiar husky voice called over the roaring engine. From there she could make out long curly hair, and an irritated face.

"What in Seven Hells- get your skinny ass over 'ere."

Yep. That's right folks; it's her sweet, kind-hearted story-book Prince. Too bad Dany didn't want to be saved. Not by him, that is.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed back, walking out unto the road with her hair a wild mess. "I don't want your help!"

He glanced back and forth, rounding the open door to follow her, "why are you being so difficult? Lemme take you home, you stupid female!"

"Wow, thanks, you're really working in my favor now." He gripped her by the wrist and pulled her back towards the truck, Dany began screaming. "Rape! Somebody help!"

"Will you shut-up?!" The boy growled, "nobody's gonna show if you scream that!"

"Fire! Help!- Ow, stop it, you're hurting my arm!" He pulled her back into the headlights, and now she could see his angry face. Her leg flew forward and her bony ankle hit his inner-thigh, but if you had asked her, she would have said it was pretty much a bull's-eye. "Fuck off!"

"Wait!" He called as he folded over into the beams, and she actually humored him. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. That was a mean trick I pulled on you, and the last thing I want is for you to hate me for it."

"You know, I actually liked you. You seemed like a cool guy."

"I know, I fucked up."

"Well... You did chase me down to apologize- though you could have down a better job than that." She held a finger up into the light, "and don't drag a girl into your rapist truck."

"Don't try to kick a man in the unmentionables." He countered, standing up and covering her with his shadow.

"Don't drag a girl into your rapist truck." She repeated. And he laughed in the most genuine kind of way. "Apology accepted."

Dany grabbed her shoes out of the dust and fled to the passenger door, gripping onto it with an extreme tightness, for it was beside a deep brush and she didn't feel like dying. He called from inside, "it's unlocked."

She clambered inside, dropping her shoes onto the floorboard. She couldn't see much from the darkness, only that it had a single bench inside and an updated radio. It also smelled like wood and leather, and in a strange way, she felt at home. Looking out the back, it was clear to see that she had not even left the parking section of the club; she would have undoubtedly died out there.

"So, what is your name?" Dany asked in an innocent tone, messing around with the radio dials.

"Jon."

"Oh. I'm Dany."

"Is that short for-"He stopped as the car rode up over a boulder, causing both of them to bounce in their seats. "-Danielle?"

"No, Daenerys," she answered, much to her discomfort, finally finding a channel she liked. "ooh. This is a great song."

"Hey! Get your seatbelt on, Xena."

"It is!"

"No it's fucking not. I can see it from here."

"I feel icky… I don't want to wear it..." She grumbled, sprawling across the two seats, he looked down at her with the time allowed.

"I don't want you flying through the windshield."

There he goes worrying about her again, just as he had before. Her insides warmed and her face flushed.

She lied on her side, pulling her knees up to her. Jon didn't argue anymore, setting his right arm across the top of the seat to appear casual, but really he was hovering it above her in case of an abrupt stop. Dany sang along with whatever song had been playing, always going an octave higher because she couldn't sing the low notes.

She was pretty happy here. And for a moment she pretended that Jon was her boyfriend and they were going on a trip- maybe to the beach? Maybe to that Riverrun place all the cooler kids spend their spring break?

"Hey- let's go to the river." She whispered into the seat, playing with a hole in the cushion, stopping only when it had ripped further.

"We've been drinking."

The words fell into the air and lingered. The only sound now was the radio, the warm air buzzing, and an occasional sigh from him. Dany inched closer, stopping when the top of her head brushed his thigh and her hair tangled in his seatbelt clasp.

She remembered how sincere her kiss was, and how brutal his was. She so desperately wanted him to like her, as she had him. She wanted them to go on trips at random, because she had asked and he loved her enough to waste time. Because he loved her.

Love. Missie was right, there was such a thing. Maybe it was that cheap beer talking, but Dany wanted it. And she wanted it with this stranger.

"I don't want to go home." She admitted, squeezing the rough fabric of his pant-leg. There was dirt on it, all over his knees and converse. Her legs were dirty too, as well as her bare feet. She could feel the road turn smoother, and the truck hummed softly.

"Are you sure? We're in town now."

"There are bad people there." The brunette stated simply in a sad voice that didn't sound as her own. Jon said nothing, but continued driving anyway. Dany couldn't see the road from her position, but the dawning sun lit up the cabin of the truck with a sickly light, and she could finally glance around it. Her eyes fell on his face, and he stared intensely at the road, glaring from beneath his dark eyelashes. He was thinking about what she had said, applying it to himself.

"I don't want to go home either."

* * *

><p>The radio read as 4:36, and the way the truck leaned, it was clear they were climbing up a road. The two had been travelling for what felt like an hour, all in silence. By now Jon had rolled the window down, and held a lit cigarette between his lips. His tense hand was now relaxed, and she could feel the tips of his fingers dusting the surface of her hair.<p>

"I have class today," she laughed melodically, forcing the boy to adjust in his seat.

"I thought you were asleep." He made movement to throw out the cigarette, clearly ashamed of his secret habit, but she stopped him.

"You can smoke it. I love the smell." And she truly did. Despite the burning rage she felt for her brother, his smoking was always something she had liked- the smell was gritty and gross. But she was drawn to it.

"I'm trying to quit, but I keep finding a reason not to."

"Where are we going?" She sat up and glanced out the dusty window, rolling it all the way down so the she may stick her head out of it.

"Just driving."

"What about your brothers?" She rolled up the window, it was too cold to enjoy the wind; she went sliding to the center seat as he turned sharply.

"What about them?"

"How will they get home?" When he couldn't seem to find an answer, she had pulled her phone from her bag, "I can ask Missie to drop them off- she might do it, even though she hates that one guy."

"Theon?" Jon puffed out more smoky air, flicking the bud into the road, "yeah, nobody actually likes him."

"He kind of reminds me of my brother," she gushed, warming her legs, " 'cept he's probably nicer, huh?"

"Is your brother the reason why your arm is all bruised up?" He motioned to the right side of the truck, eyes still glued to the road. He had probably been examining her as she napped, and in the light, Dany could see the dark purple stripes.

"No." She lied.

"Well, he shouldn't hit you." Jon said anyway, cranking up the window with his free hand.

"Well, you know how it is. Boys will be boys." Dany shrugged, sliding her legs beneath her, reaching out to dig through the glove box.

"That's not boys being boys." Jon grumbled, turning down a more wooded area, "That's boys being monsters… You know, yesterday, a boy named Joffery was beating my sister with a stick. That is not right, and neither is that-"

"You don't know how it is," she exclaimed defensively, "he keeps me in line. Sometimes, I deserve it."

"Who told you that? Who told you it was okay to hit someone because they deserve it?"

His voice rose in anger, and her brows lowered over her fierce eyes. "Careless and stupid people- like you- did."

He slammed on the brakes, catching her with one hand. The truck crept to the edge of the road, and Dany's heart drummed in her chest. She was terrified. It was if she had 'awoken the dragon' in Jon, and she gawked at him as if he were her own brother. Why did she always have to ruin things?

"People like me? I would never hit-"

"You're getting angry." She stated, inching away from him.

"Yeah, I'm fucking angry! You don't know me. Yet you sit there and accuse me of being a monster."

"Yeah, but you're getting angry, and you're yelling- look Jon! You're gripping the steering wheel right now, like it's somebody's neck. You're not a monster- yet. But you will be." Dany pressed her back against the passenger door, and his tense body softened. "I know your type- you're just like my brother. A ticking time bomb."

"You know nothing."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine: Jon

"I'm sorry."

She combed the hair from her cheek. Her dress still burned like fire, and his rage was melting away. Perhaps she was right.

"No. I'm sorry."

The tires ground against the road, and that _'Let Her Go' _song was on the radio- probably for the hundredth time that week. He continued on his trek, neither of them talking, both of them feeling bad for turning on each other.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah…" She whispered, pulling sequins off the hem of her dress, littering the floor boards with it.

"What are you hungry for?"

"Pancakes."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>5:11 AM<p>

The truck entered the empty town, and was immediately drawn to a diner. It was thirty minutes to opening, so Jon left the truck running and slid out into the parking lot for a cigarette. Dany said nothing, pulling her hair back with a rubber band she found in the center compartment, not even making eye contact when he reached past her for the silver foiled box.

Just as he sat the filter between his lips, his phone rang. He lifted it to his ear, answering before lighting his vice.

"Hello?"

_"Jon? It's Cat- where in the world are you?!"_ Her voice sound more intensely angry then upset. No doubt Theon and Robb had showed up drunk as she was enjoying her ritualistic cup of coffee.

"I'm at the diner off the boulevard, why, what's wrong?"

_"You didn't go running this morning. So I assumed you didn't hear your alarm- know what I found?"_

"…three empty beds?" His voice went up, as did his shoulders, preparing for the earful he was going to get.

_"Three. Empty. Beds. One missing work truck. Two drunk boys. Do the Math."_ Cat sighed loudly into the phone, and Jon flicked the ashes into the road; counting the broken stripes of the parking SLOTS was better than receiving a lecture. _"Jon, you have class in 2 hours, and your father has work in 2 1/2, he needs that truck. When you get back we're going to have a strong discussion."_

"Okay," he grumbled, flicking the butt into the road and smothering it beneath his foot, " love-you-bye."

_"Bye."_ The phone went quiet, and he shoved it into his back pocket returning to the truck. Dany was leaning out the WINDOW with a smile playing on her lips.

"What?" He asked flatly.

"Was that your mom?" He pushed her head back into the truck, pulling out the door and hopping back in. He immediately took to rolling up the window, and warmed his hands in front of the heater.

"No. Step-mom."

"I bet she's pretty huh? I bet she gives warm bear hugs and smells like clean linens," Dany whispered to herself, leaning back into the seat and adjusting herself in the rear-view mirror. She pulled out her lipstick and began reapplying it, probably to give her something to do, because they were about to eat, and any other reason didn't make sense.

"I wouldn't know." He admitted, rubbing his nose and staring at the diner's windows. She turned to face him, and it seemed like she was a completely _new_ person, no inkling was left of the girl he had argued with an hour ago. " 's wrong with you? Why are you so happy?"

"I just really like pancakes," she lied, leaning her shoulder on his. He could tell she was thinking about mothers, just from her smile. But that smile dissolved as she looked at the tips of her curled hair. "I never knew my mom. Just that I looked like her… and her hair was silver."

"Me either," Jon whispered to her, staring at the window's again, absent-mindedly rubbing a strand of her hair in his fingertips. It was soft, and she didn't seem to care. "Guess it's a good thing you dyed it."

Her eyebrow arched and she looked at his profile, "I guess now I'm my own person, huh?"

"Yeah," he half-heartedly agreed. The Army was his hair dye, and both of them were idiots expressing themselves, despite any consequences. They were Adults now, they will no longer be what people expected them to be; they would no longer live as their mothers. They were more similar then he knew.

"I like it better brown anyways, you look hot."

"I didn't dye it to please you, male." She scoffed playfully, using his gender as if it were an insult. "Besides, I wanted it blonde."

"Blondes are so overrated," he grunted, pulling the seatbelt from beneath him. Another scoff ensued.

"Oh yeah- how many blondes has Mr. Big-Shot-Stark had?" Dany challenged, and Jon said nothing, but laughed loudly, and she prodded him in the gut. "That's what I fucking thought!"

"Yeah, but I've had way more girls than you had boys," he returned the poke, right in the exposed part of her soft belly.

"I bet you've had none!" She returned, sneering at him while crossing her arms.

"And you less."

She gave his arm a squeeze as if he were just another one of her girl-friends. "You're actually not wrong."

"Are you- no way!" He laughed in disbelief, "you're a virgin, but you went to the club to fuck someone? Do you even know how sex works?"

"How is it conversations always end up with sex? Are humans really that obsessed with it?"

"Answering a question with a question? Are you hiding something?"

"Did you just answer my question with a question? Are you?" Dany smiled her bright teeth at him; she was too nice to be lead astray, Jon saw it as his duty to set her right.

"Listen; don't go to a club to have your first romp - save that for someone special, it's not comfortable for you girls to just go willy-nilly. Didn't anyone ever teach you that?" Oh God, he was starting to sound like Cat when she had the talk with Sansa, and Sansa should count herself lucky to have had Cat to teach her. Otherwise she'd be as clueless as this idiot.

The girl didn't appear to be listening, posing in the mirror with one of his cigarettes between her full pink lips. Jon lunged forward and smacked it onto the floorboards, clipping her nose in the process. "Don't let me ever catching you smoking- I mean it."

"Ow- wha- you smoke them all the time you hypocrite!"

"No, _not all the time_. Only when my folks aren't around." He pointed his finger into her cheek, starting to sound as tired as he was, warning her in a sleepy-husky voice. "You're too pretty to be smoking. You're too smart to be smoking. _Don't let me catch you_."

And even though they never noticed, the open sign had been flipped, and business men were filing in. She grabbed his hand from her face, and mocked him, as if he were a puppy. "Coffee? Do you want coffee Jon?"

He simply nodded. Yeah, he did want hot coffee. And bacon. And waffles. "Yeah, come on, let's eat and go. We both have class in an hour."

She grimaced, sliding out the driver's side door after him, pulling on her shoes with extreme difficulty. "I don't think I'm going to go."

"You should. Makes you smart."

"Wow. That was the worst sentence you've constructed so far, you need English 101 more than I do!" She bit her lip, and coyly pushed hair from her cheeks as if she were a cheerleader and he was the football star- they could only ever dream. "Are you going to go?"

"No."

"Then let's not. Let's eat and chat like normal friends-Oh my god." She gaped at their reflections. Both were dirty and appeared as if they were doing a walk of shame. "I look like a hot-mess. It literally looks like we went to that party and fucked people in the dirt."

Jon moved uncomfortably, because he _literally had_ gone to that party and fucked someone in the dirt. "Yeah, we do look rode hard and put away wet, huh? Why are your legs so freaking dirty?"

"Why are yours?"No answer. "I also look like a transient hooker." Still no response. "Wow, you could have denied it."

"What? What do you want from me? A jacket?"

"Please?" She shuffled behind him as he unlocked the truck, and he lifted the seats, digging underneath. "Anything to cover my shame."

"Uh- how desperate are you?"

"Pretty desperate." She answered, rubbing her arms. "Why? What are my options?"

"All that's in here is my work shirt. It's covered in gross-ness and has a big ugly wolf face on it." Jon retrieved it from beneath the work tools, grimacing at the large words that read 'Stark Ranch'.

"You work? What do you do?"

"I just help my dad out is all."

"What does he do?" Her brow lifted again.

"Works on our Ranch and does handi-work for other Ranches."

"Oh."

She took it and slid it on without questioning; it was large on her, ending at her knees. Dany then proceeded to shimmy her dress down until it was around her ankles.

"What are you doing?" Jon looked around the growing parking lot, "keep your clothes on."

"It's scratchy and annoying." She threw it on top of the toolbox. Jon shut the truck door, and immediately ran after her to pull her shirt down in the back after a majority of the parking lot saw her panties. She clearly was at that level of sleep deprivation where it was okay to walk into a diner in just a dirty long sleeve, heels, and a rubber band ponytail. And Jon smiled.

* * *

><p>5:58 AM<p>

"How many?" The woman asked with a smile, and neither answered verbally, just lifting up two fingers. She grabbed their menus and ushered them further in, the booths littered with drunken partiers and stern coffee-drinking businessmen.

Jon couldn't even remember ordering, his eyes were so heavy- if it weren't for the cup of coffee, he would have passed out; he laid his head on the sticky table and watched. Dany generously drenched her pancakes, lifting her bacon off the plate and towards his mouth. He didn't complain, taking it as he stared at nothing.

"Daenerys?" A male voice asked, both turning towards it. She tensed up, clenching her fork tightly.

"Um, hello Mr. Jorah… good morning!"

"Is this your boyfriend?" He sounded a little distressed, motioning to the collapsed mess that once was Jon.

"No, this is my friend, Jon."

"Oh! You're Ned Stark's bastard." Now it was Jon who was tense, lifting his head to get a good view of the man. He was older looking, donned a suit and clutched a mug in his fingers. The boy glanced at Dany, who gripped the table with uneasiness.

"I've got to go," rushed out Jorah, leaning down to kiss a shaking Dany near the mouth, "you look beautiful, as always- tell your brother I said hi!"

And he was gone. Jon watched the door for some time. That man knew him, but he had no recollection of him. From the corner of his eye she scrubbed her mouth furiously, diving back into her breakfast with watery eyes.

"You okay?"

"Yes."

"Do you… want to sit over here by me?" That always seemed to make his sisters feel better. But she shook her head; eating her food but not actually tasting it. "Is that guy a pervert?"

She shrugged, putting her lips on the rim of her orange juice. For some reason, he felt angry- because he had tasted those lips only hours ago, and some pervert was stealing kisses. He was like a dog that marked a tree. It wasn't his tree to mark, but since he had, he felt possessive.

"So an abusive brother and a pervert. That's pretty fucked up, Dany." Her eyes met his, she was expressionless.

"A motherless bastard. That's fucked up too."

"Yeah, we're the world's biggest outcasts…" he sipped his coffee, and was quietly offended by the truth. She sat her fork down with a clank, rubbing her eyes with force.

"Woah," he grabbed her wrist with an eerie calmness, "don't."

"It's three perverts, a dead mother, a looney father, _and_ an abusive brother." She yelped at him.

He motioned to the seat beside him, and she was hesitant. "I'm not going to try anything- we're friends now, remember?"

She slid out of the booth and ran to him, wringing his shirt in her fists and crying into it.

She reminded him of Arya, so small, fierce but always broken.

He whispered into her hair, rubbing her back as he had Sansa's the day prior. "You can't let this break you down. You need to fight it."

"Are you supposed to be my cigarette smoking guardian angel, Jon Snow?" She whimpered at last as a joke, cradled beneath his arm with her lip in her teeth.

"What… why did you call me Snow?"

She was quiet, staring towards the window, and he waved away an approaching waitress. "…I'm sorry. It just sort of came out... sounds right, though. Sounds like the name of a hero from a leather bound story book, doesn't it?"

Snow was cold, and harsh, and destroyed everything in its path- always disappearing with the sun. He was snow. Jon Snow. He laughed at it.

"Come on, let's go." He sat down a 20 dollar bill, pushing them out into the aisle.

* * *

><p>They were forced to pump gas into the truck, but Dany didn't complain. Returning to the truck with a Red Bull to share, smiling brighter than ever. They drove the truck in front of her duplex, and her brother could be seen from smoking in the lanai with a large man.<p>

"Do you want me to walk you up?"

"No, that'll make things worse…" And she leaned forward, pecking his cheek. He could smell her body-wash and see the sparkles in her make-up. "Bye. I'll be seeing you?"

She smiled, but he could tell she was afraid. He knew it wasn't a good idea. He knew he brother would be merciless. And when he shouldn't have cared, he did. He truly did.

"You sure?"

She opened the door and nodded, waving to him as she slid out. Jon watched her for a long time, only opting to leave when she was safe inside, but the men flooded in behind her, and his stomach was turning.

* * *

><p>6:32 AM<p>

"Jon! Where have you been? You're brothers and sisters just left-"

"I know, I saw them." He shut the door and marched past Cat, hobbling up the steps in a drunken stupor.

"Go get dressed-"

"No." He returned from the porch. "I've signed up for the Army. You don't have to deal with me anymore."

"Jon-?" She turned to her approaching husband, who was exiting the door with a mug in tow, and looked to him for a reaction. He reached out and gave Jon a hearty hug, and an even heartier laugh.

"Well done Jon, you'll be the pride of the Starks." He snatched the keys from his boy with playfulness, and Jon felt happier than he had in a very long time. This was what he had waited 19 years for- nothing could upset him.

"Jon." Ned called from the truck, sounding sterner than before, "come 'ere."

And the boy complied, returning to the vehicle that he was far too familiar with. Ned stared him in the face, and a smile grew on his face, "Next time you steal your old man's truck, take this stuff out."

From the depths he retrieved a tiny red dress, and found a lipstick covered cigarette even further in. "Eh smoker huh? Wearing this? She must have been irresistible."

"She was nice girl," Jon returned, eyeing his cigarette. Cat just gasped at the sight of the items, she was a terribly old fashioned woman.

"Oh Jon, tell me you didn't get her pregnant."

"What? No- Cat, we didn't do anything."

"Your knees are dirty and your fly is down, boy." Laughed Ned who nudged Cat and received a bashful smile.

_That would be Ygritte_, Jon was tempted to say, pulling up his zipper while praying no one else was fortunate to see.

"Make sure you give the young lady her dress back, and don't get shot by her father." Ned demanded, climbing behind the wheel with an audible grunt, "I just buried Lady, don't need to bury my future soldier either."

"I'm too young for grandchildren, so glove it." Cat said, prodding him with a smile on her lips as Ned backed away.

"Ugh! God, don't say that."

"_Glove it_," She repeated it this time to mess with him, poking his abdomen. "No glove, no love. Now get upstairs and shower, I can smell the hormones."

And he did, running through the quiet house, feeling a little better today. He was so glad he went to that party.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Another intense chapter, trigger warning! Read at your own risk! ~Foxy

Chapter ten: Dany

"Daenerys?" Was all Viserys could say, he was beyond appalled, because he didn't even know she had been missing. Her showing up in some boy's truck, wearing some boy's shirt, kissing some boy's face- that was enough to send him over the edge. Especially since it was the same boy he had suspected earlier, same boy wandering past his house, touching his sister- his property.

Dany was floating far from his reach; a smile was displayed openly and she held the shirt to her frame, breathing in the smell of it. His name was on her lips, his scent was on her skin, and his face was on her mind, and there was nothing Viserys could do to destroy that. But he would try, how could he assert his dominance if he didn't try?

"You were fucking him! _I fucking knew it!_" He hissed into her face, and she returned smiling. He raised his hand, but Drogo moved uneasily beside him, a cigarette clutched tightly in his grip. "Drogo. You stay here. Dany and I are going to have a little chat."

"No we're _not._" Dany's voice rose and the smile stayed stationary. She thought about what Jon had said, how she ought to fight back.

"What did you…" Viserys grabbed a handful of her hair and pushed her through the door, letting her fall to the floor. He slammed the door behind him, rushing up to her. "You are such a whore! DO YOU WANT TO WAKE THE DRAGON?"

She said nothing, staring up from where she lied. He gritted his teeth and his fist clench, "…answer me."

"Fuck you…" She responded calmly, standing to her feet. His body tensed noticeably.

"What."

"I said _fuck you_! I hate you! I hate it here- and I hate you!" She yelped at him, wringing the hem of the top into her hands. He slapped her hard, and immediately tears flooded her eyes and her bag fell to her feet. But she stood up tall, facing once more.

"You're a monster, and I hate you. I hope you rot-"He smacked her hard again, this time her head connected with the nearby wall, and she was blinded for a second. She was starting to see this _dragon_ he had threatened her with for years- she could handle it. She had to. She had to fight for her freedom.

Dany ran up the stairs, gripping her throbbing head. If she could barricade herself long enough to call the cops, then she'd wash her hands of everything. She could live a normal life. But Viserys wasn't about to let her go, stomping up the steps and catching her by the shirt, forcing her to turn and fight him.

Red faced, he pushed her through her door, his hands gripping her throat, slamming her down onto the bed.

"I'm the monster- I'm the monster? NO ONE LOVES YOU LIKE I DO!" The shouting made her flinch and her hands clawed up in an attempt to loosen his grip. "You think he loves you?! LET'S SEE HOW MUCH HE LOVES YOU AFTER I'M DONE WITH YOU!"

Viserys flipped her over, pushing her face down into her floral duvet to muffle her screaming. Her legs kicked desperately, but he was stronger than her, using his knees to pry them apart and pin them. One hand pinched her wrists together at the small of her back, and the other one caressed her thigh, lifting Jon's shirt.

One cold finger played with the lace on her panties, and his voice was hungry."-look at you, all dolled up for him. Bet I can fuck you better than he could."

_That's not for you. That's not for you. Don't steal that. That is not yours._

Her eyes burn with uncontrollable tears and her mouth sobbed into her blanket as he ripped them off of her. His hand reached downward to grope her, laughing at her humiliation. She cried out and struggled against his rubbing, even more so when she heard his belt unclasp and could feel something touch her leg.

"No!" She got out, ramming the heel of her shoe into his thigh, "-please-"

And he brought his fist down on the back of her skull. "Stop fighting! You've wanted this- you've asked for it!"

She sobbed till her throat hurt.

Thinking about her diary, her crystal wind chimes, her floral blanket, and her hair. Thinking about Jon and his truck, his cigarettes, his drunk brother, Missie, Renly, Viserys, Drogo- how betrayed she felt, how they would feel. She thought about anything but what was going to happen, because if she didn't believe it happened, it didn't really happen- right? That was how that worked,_ right_?

If it didn't work that way, then life was fucked up. _Really_ fucked up.

The weight was lifted from her. The pain from her wrists dissolving. She didn't want to move. It was probably a dream- someone saving another at last minute was not something that happened in real life.

But it was real. More real than the shirt on her back and the dirt on her legs.

Drogo was bent over her brother, beating him into the ground. Viserys pale hand reached for her, but Dany shook her head, sliding from her bed and rubbing her tear stained cheeks. She got from the ground and ran for it, not turning back for him. He was a dead man for sure.

And all this time, it was Drogo she feared.

She should have thanked him.

* * *

><p>9:12 AM<p>

Missie gripped her friend's shoulders and cradled her.

Dany had climbed in through the window, throwing herself on top of her sleeping friend. Both still wore what the crazy night had allowed. And both held each other in silence. Cop sirens sounded past the window, and Dany stared at her reflection in the tv.

"…are you alright?" She shook her throbbing head, but no tears fell. "Is Viserys dead?" Dany shrugged, more sirens buzzed by, causing Missie to part the drapes. Upon seeing them stop where the duplex was, she lunged out of bed and pull pajama shorts from her dresser.

"Dany, go shower and put these on." Dany remained unmoving, silent with shock. "When those cops come looking for you, you're going to need an alibi."

"I was with Jon… that's my alibi." She finally croaked out in a distant voice, rubbing her neck where her brother's hand been only moments earlier.

"Sweetie, you stayed the night with me." Missie said with certainty. "There was no Jon."

"Yes there was," Dany corrected in a confused tone.

"Unless you want the cops hounding him- _no there wasn't_."

"But it was Drogo! I saw it- why would they arrest Jon?"

Missie sat down on the bed beside her, it bounced beneath her weight; those criminal shows and books were her life- part of her wanted to work with the C.S.I.. "They'll take in anyone with a motive. People _saw_ you two together last night- and if you two were serious and if he _knew_ about your brother, that is motive enough."

"I was with him all night." Dany stated aloud, taking the situation in doses, because her body ached and she didn't understand anything. But she remembered how angry Jon got when they talked about her beatings, and how he squeezed the steering wheel…

"Not if you were _with me_ all night." Missie rubbed circles into her back, "that leaves him without an alibi, and it's open season for that Stark boy- don't bring that family any shame, they're the only ones left with a clean slate."

"This… is so fucked up…" She let her hand wander to her forehead, staring at the piles of discarded clothes on the floor. "I bet Drogo ran when it was done."

"Let's just hope he isn't dead… but in secret, let's hope he is…" Missie whispered, lifting the shorts to Dany. She took them with a shaky hand.

"You wouldn't happen to have any of the Stark's phone numbers…?"

"Just that one creepy one."

"Theon, why?"

"He's not so bad once you look past how bad he is. Why? You're not going to call that boy are you?"

"The cops won't catch on if I use your phone and call Theon's." Dany stated, but not completely believing herself, because she knew the police were smart. "They should be out of class now, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Why?"

"You guys probably shouldn't talk for a while." Missie answered bluntly, peeling out of her tight black party dress. "Go bathe and then you can sleep… I think you've had more than you can handle for the day."

"Okay." She said in a hollow voice. Because Missie was right, she was so unbelievably overwhelmed, and sleeping sounded so wonderful- it truly did.

Suds spiraled around the drain, and Dany had found herself staring at nothing in particular. She could hear the shower running, and feel the water, but she was too far gone. Far too tired. She had been up for hours, but didn't feel the desire to move. But she did twist the small chrome knob whenever the water threatened to grow colder. Maybe it was just the weight of everything?

Viserys wouldn't bother her anymore. But not because she had stood up for herself, no. Someone fought her battle for her. She was weak and broke beneath him. Dany was no match for someone like that. Someone like Viserys, someone like Jon.

_He's not your boyfriend_, she whispered to the water, _you've caused nothing but trouble for each other. You don't know him. You just met him. You don't know him and he's not yours. You're so stupid, Dany. Stupid._

But she couldn't help liking him. The moment he ran into her life was the moment she fell. She fell off that roof that day and never recovered.

And for the first time in a while, she shed tears for herself, promising that they would be her last.

She hopped out of the shower, putting on the shorts and his shirt, throwing the bra in the small trash bin. She didn't need it reminding her every time she wore it.

A towel wrapped upon her head, she exited to Missie watching the news. Plopping down on the bed, and rolling herself up in the covers. She missed her bed.

"Anything yet?"

"Naw… do you feel any better?"

"A little." She sniffled, and Missie turned to face her.

"Do you want a cleaner shirt?"

"No, this one's fine."

* * *

><p>Viserys had died before reaching the hospital. Bleeding in the brain, they said. The neighbors told the cops that they heard yelling from inside, and that a large man had fled the scene. The cops did find Dany at her friend's, and Missie's parents verified her being there the night prior to the incident, but they saw her bruises and took her in anyways.<p>

She lied.

Drogo killed him because Viserys had hit her the night before. When ask how she knew, she stated that Drogo was the only other person at the duplex, and was capable of doing such a thing. She swore on it.

She lied, and for the first time, no one saw through it. Dany was free now, and she immediately moved into Missie's room, leaving behind things she couldn't bear to look at.

That was several weeks ago. Drogo was still missing, and the cops watched Dany like a hawk. She could have told the truth, but the cops would never side with her. The law system was so fucked up, she didn't even dare think about it.

She's doing better now, the bruises were leaving and she was back in class again. The whole town knew what had happened, saying they were sorry for her loss and she was tempted to say: _"I'm not."_

It is warmer now, so she wore a dress, wearing her hair down in cascades along her back. It was good to be back in class- even if half the students were unaware she was gone in the first place. But Professor Tyrion welcomed her back, giving her the most delicate hug she had ever received. He was a nice man.

"Hey Missie," Theon greeted, and Missie turned to him with a smile.

"Hey you," She said melodically, and Dany's body went stiff. She stared at the pages of her textbook intensely, eyes glued to the space between letters. A cold finger tapped to bare skin of her neck, and she rotated to face him.

But it was Theon. Jon was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, my brother wanted to know if you could call him sometime. He's really worried."

"He never visited."

"Yeah, well, he said that you moved or something. Probably because your brother died," Theon nodded as if he were agreeing to something, passing her a scrap of paper, "here, here's his number."

"Thanks." She turned around, and held it in her hands, staring at the front of the class, conjuring a smile from the teacher.

She shouldn't call him. It'd been too long.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Note: A lot of songs inspired this FF, so if you guys would like song suggestions or a playlist after it's completed, let me know in the review section ^^~ Foxy

Chapter eleven: Jon

Jon sat at the breakfast table, eating with Cat before he had to go out and do chores. Because he was no longer taking classes at the community college, his workload had increased substantially, and he found himself hanging around with the livestock more than anyone else.

"The van sounds funny too," Cat suggested over a bite of fruit, "I wish it was working again. Could you look at it?"

"Sure," he agreed, despite not knowing a lot about vehicles. The family only had two, Ned's work truck and Cat's piece of shit van that rarely worked and sat beside the barn collecting spider webs. Life would be so much easier if he could get it working, then they wouldn't have to wait for their father to get home to go shopping or hangout. And personally, Jon was sick of walking into the Landing whenever he had to run an errand.

"When did they say you'll be leaving for Boot Camp?"

"Like…" he chewed, staring at the ceiling and trying to remember, "-I think August. Yeah, like August 12th."

"Just 4 more months, Jonathan, then you'll be in the real world." She smiled, rubbing his shoulder with genuine pride. Ever since he had announced his joining the Army, Cat was beginning to warm up to him. Too bad it took 19 years.

"Yeah, well, I better go feed the animals. Lemme know if Dad calls you, I have to ask him about the horses."

"What's wrong with the horses?" She turned, being nosy as usual.

"Nothing, one's just pregnant is all."

"You better take her into the stables then- actually take them all in; it's going to be storming tonight." Jon looked out the window, and frowned at the bright sunlight; not a cloud in the sky.

"Ohh-kayy?" He said with uncertainty, mainly because he hated doing work that didn't need to be done in the first place. He also felt like he had a little more authority on the livestock than she had. Cat waved him from the Kitchen, and he complied, sweeping his cap off the wooden table and securing it on his head as he exited the room.

Just as he stepped out onto the porch, his phone rang the default alert sound from the depths of his pockets. He ripped open the velcro of his glove with his teeth,and went rummaging for it, turning it to his ear once it was in his palm.

"Hello?" He sort of coughed out, breathing in the wind-bound dust.

"_Jon?"_ A small voice asked from the opposite line, so quiet that he moved it to his other ear in an attempt to hear better.

"Yeah, this is him."

"_It's, um, Dany?"_ She said it like it was a question, finishing it with an awkward giggle, _"uh- hi again."_

"Oh, hey. What's up- how are you?"

"_Better. You've heard… a-about my brother- about Viserys, right?"_ She sounded as if she were afraid to ask, as if she viewed herself as a liability and Jon wouldn't actually care.

"Yeah, are you okay?" She made a sound of confusion, like she didn't get the question. "I know you two were… close."

"_Um, yeah."_ Dany said it a second time to confirm it for herself, _" Yeah, like, I'm not sure I miss him yet. You know?"_ Jon said nothing, and her voice began to lose its confidence. _"Um, his funeral was last week, but I didn't go…"_

"I should have been there."

"_I- huh?"_

"I mean. I should have walked you to the door," he rubbed his forehead and gave an uncertain chuckle, "maybe all of that shit wouldn't have happen…"

"_Nothing happened,"_ she lied, _"you shouldn't blame yourself."_

"You-"He laughed, offended, covering up his mouth and stepping from the porch," you are such a bad fucking liar, you know that? You are _so_ bad, but you keep doing it, why?"

"_I'm not."_ She didn't sound defensive at all.

"Why did the news say you were over at a friend's the morning he died?" Jon wandered further from the house, for he could see Cat eavesdropping by the window. "You were-"

"_Can we talk?"_ Dany interrupted urgently, _"in person?"_

"Uh- what? Yeah, yeah, sure." Jon agreed, "do you know where the Stark Ranch is?"

"_No."_

"Take Kingsroad," he grumbled into the phone, "its past the intersection with North St., can't miss it."

"_Wait, so like, out of the Landing?"_ And he gave her an annoyed 'uh-huh', but not because he was annoyed with her- actually, that's a lie. He was pretty annoyed. And she could tell, her voice quieter than before, _"Oh- okay. See you in 30."_

"Yeah." He hung up and went to feed the dogs, dragging his feet because he still had to gather the horses and fix the van.

* * *

><p>By now it was late afternoon, and Jon's hands were hard at work on the van. The surface was burning to the touch, and he was withering under the sun; his button up was undone and open. He was tempted to remove it from his shoulders, but Cat advised him against it. <em>'You kids are just like your father- the second you are out in the sun, you bake and burn.'<em>

He leaned against the headlight, wiping his hands free of oil. From where he sat he could see Dany wandering in; she looked so lost and so small, approaching the farm house with her bag tucked under her arm. Her long hair fell down her back and she wore a floral sundress. She was prettier than he had remembered. It'd been too long.

"Hey!" Jon called, waving to her because she was glancing everywhere but where he was. "Over here."

She ran up with her big smile, as if this wasn't a serious meet-up, "hey! Your house is so big!"

"Uh, yeah." He laughed shyly, because how was he supposed to respond to that? "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Huh?" She was distracted by the horses inside the barn, as if she had never seen one in person.

And the dogs. And the chickens. Just the whole ranch.

"You lied to me, for starters." Jon said, leading them into the shade of the barn, "I think you might have lied to the police-"

"Wow, you're like, ripped-" She squealed a little too excited, and Jon pulled his shirt together to hide his chest, flushed with embarrassment.

"Could you just-" she ran over to the fence to watch Ghost and Shaggydog play, forcing an aggravated grunt from him,"-stop fucking avoiding my questions?"

"What? Okay, so I lied." She didn't turn to face him, prodding Ghost's wet nose through the chicken wire, probably recognizing him from their first run-in.

"Why? What did your brother do after I left?" He pressed, buttoning up his top with a lowered brow.

"Nothing, he got angry with me. And Drogo killed him." She lied, avoiding him as she moved back to the shade. "I just told them I was at Missie's so you didn't get pulled into questioning."

"Why would _I_ get pulled into questioning?"

"Because we spent the night together… and I was wearing your work-shirt at the time. They would probably have assumed we were lovers." Her hands dove into her bag, pulling out the folded shirt, "here."

Jon stared hard at it, then back at her face. Her eyes stared at the ground. He reached forward and brushed her hair from her neck, revealing the traces of yellow finger-shaped bruises. Dany was fighting back tears, her shoulders shook with labored breathing.

It's like when you have a shit day, and someone asks you a question- just one question- and everything you fought so hard to hold in unwinds and you can't stop crying.

"What did he do?" He asked, but only received a choking sound. "Hey. What happened after I left?"

She shook her head and a shaky hand went to her mouth,"… why do you care?"

"Because you're my friend." He lied loudly, unsettling several horses, "I care about my friends."

"We're friends?" She stared at him with watery eyes, sounding like she couldn't believe it. He didn't believe it either.

"Yeah, I really do care. Okay?"

"Okay…" She mumbled. He grabbed her thin wrist and pulled her in for a hug. He probably smelled like sweat and oil but she didn't care, she collapsed into him and let herself be held, expressionless like a ragdoll. He kissed the crown of her head and rubbed between her shoulders like he would one of his sisters. Her voice came out in a croak, "… he tried things…"

"I know," he said softly, "it wasn't your fault. You know that, right? He was bad."

"…yeah, that's what they tell me… 's not your fault either," she whispered, and he nodded but didn't agree completely. It could have been avoided. It was his fault in some ways. She gave a laugh, sounding angry with him. "… sometimes I wish we could have stayed in that truck."

"Me too." Jon could find her fingers playing with the buttons on his shirt, and his arm wrapped around her waist. They were sitting down on a dusty bale of hale now. Comfortably quiet with one another. Jon was starting to realize something. It been so long since Ygritte, he didn't think he could love again. But Dany was a good start. Dany was good for him- they were good for each other.

"I promise, that will never happen to you again," he said to her hair. If that had happened to Sansa or Arya, Jon would have killed the person responsible. Part of him wishes it had been him that killed Viserys. Nothing is more satisfying than protecting your own. She was his own.

"I'm not yours to protect," she argued bluntly, and he squeezed her closer.

"Yes you are."

"How much longer are you going to toy with my emotions?" She spat at him, twisting the fabric of his shirt in her fingertips, "stupid _bastard_."

"_Don't call me that_," he warned under his breath, she contorted in his grip to face him. "_You have no right._"

"I have the _only_ right," she hissed. Stubborn. Stubborn, stupid, crazy- she infuriated him. She made him mad and he loved it.

Their mouths found each other, angry at first, attempting to hurt one another. Crushing and starving, trying to snuff each other into submission. But Jon slowed against her, and she followed. Kissing soft tender kisses, fingers left silent messages in their hair. They separated, breathless with drumming hearts.

"You're mine." He stated, and she tensed beneath him. She's heard those words before. But this time, it was different. He brought meaning to it. It was full of something unrecognizable- it was mutual. Jon's finger softly traced the curves of her lips. "You're mine to protect, you're mine to kiss, mine to fix."

"And you're mine?" He nodded with a smile, and she toyed with the skin on his neck. "You're my stupid bastard, Jon Snow."

"That's right." He hands laced behind his neck. "I'm your stupid bastard, Snow."

"How crazy- how unexpected." She giggled into his collar, now lying on his chest. He was hers now. Her own living person.

"What?"

"I didn't think you liked me in that way."

"I've liked you since you drop that damn book on me." He teased, a laugh from her ensued. Cat came roaming from the house; a sound of surprise came from her as she found the two tangled together.

"Oh- hello there," Cat faked a smile, Dany waved with widened eyes, gawking at his step-mother. "Jon, I told your father about the mare, and he said _'wait till he gets home'_."

"Oh, okay."

"Um, also, Ygritte called the house." Her eyes moved to Dany then back to him, "she said it's really important, and you need to call her back."

"Okay," he stood up, taking the brunette with him into the house, wearing a stiff expression.

"Cat, this is Dany- Dany, Cat." Jon said once they were in the cool front room of the house. Dany waved again, staring at the jackets and SHOES lined beside the door.

"Is Dany staying for dinner?" Cat asked with a lifted brow.

"Is that alright?" Dany asked, twisting hands together uncomfortably, and Cat nodded with a sincere smile, linking her arm with the other woman's.

"Jon, how messy is your room?" Cat asked as if the brunette wasn't standing there. "I want to show her around the house."

"It's clean, just Theon's side messy." And the girls disappeared into the sitting room. Jon went over to the phone beneath the staircase; Ygritte's number was still in the notebook beside it. He dialed it with a shaky hand, his stomach dropped when someone answered it. It was Ygritte.

"_Hello?"_

"Ygritte? It's Jon." He scratched his neck, leaned against the papered wall. "You called- said it's important."

"_Yeah- really important._"

"What is it? Are you alright?" Jon's voice was stale, no hint of worry.

"_Um-_" She exhaled sharply, she seemed upset, "_remember that party a few weeks back?_"

"Yeah?"

"_I'm pregnant, Jon._"


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Sad to say, things are going to be straining Jon and Dany's relationship, and this is only the beginning ~ Foxy

Chapter twelve: Dany

After seeing the kitchen, Cat dragged her up the steps, and she smiled down to her boyfriend. It felt so weird to say that. He was her _boyfriend_, her first! She would never have to miss out on the pleasures of life again. But something was wrong.

Jon was leaning against the wall, head in his palms. Her vision was suddenly obstructed by a wall, and she let Cat show off her family's bedrooms despite her growing curiousity. Sansa and Arya had two totally different rooms, and Dany desperately wanted to be friends with both of them. Sansa was girly and romantic, floral wallpaper and scented stuff, while Arya was your typical tom-boy, shelves drenched with things she collected off the ground and unfold clothes decorated her ground.

"This is the boy's room." Cat swung open the door and made an audible noise of disgust. Theon's side was a disaster zone, leaking into Robb's side- but Jon's was as he promised. Dany's heart raced at the sight of his bed, with grey covers drawn up near the pillow, cds and books stashed on the headboard, posters lingering above it. She wanted to make love under those posters.

She was in a nervous sweat, feeling like a pervert standing beside his mother. Cat turned towards her with an arched brow her smile gone, "I'm sure you'll be no stranger here."

"What?" That was suspicious sounding and Catelyn heard the nervousness in her tone.

"Don't worry, you're not the _first_ girl Jon's brought home," Cat grumbled. She didn't need to mention that, but she did. She was testing the younger girl- it was if she was under the impression of her being a harlot- ready to corrupt her sweet home. Cat went to Jon's dresser, pulling a fiery red dress from it. "I believe this was yours?"

_Oh. That's why._ Dany smiled coyly, "he can keep it. I'll just keep this."

She lifted Jon's work shirt from her bag, Cat's eyes widened, and now both women were glaring at each other. Friends only seconds earlier, were pressing each other now. Cat laughed awkwardly, rushing the brunette from the room, arm bound tightly around her shoulders. They were going to have their hands full with each other.

* * *

><p>"You've got a spunky one, Jon," called the older woman from the top of the stairs. He was in the same spot he was earlier, staring at the floorboards, and a thumb between his teeth.<p>

"Huh? Yeah… she's pretty great, isn't she?"

"Is everything okay? Did you talk to Ygritte?" Cat questioned, making sure Dany was listening. The game was still going.

"Yeah," he choked out in a distraught voice, "- yeah, her um- grandma got sick."

"Again?"

"I'm going to walk Ghost." He rasped, shoving the edge of his shirt into his pants; Cat scoffed in disbelief, gripping the bannister tightly. Thunder sounded overhead, and it frightened her.

"Now? You have a guest."

Jon looked at Dany and she could tell he was hurting. His face was like a beaten dog's, all twisted with pain. Who had hurt him? Who was going to pay? She'd take what is hers with blood and fire.

He didn't say anything, just motioned to the space beside him, and she went to him faithfully, closing the door behind her. They walked over to the dogs, and a drizzle had started. It was warm on her cheeks as her eyes were drawn to the growing clouds. Jon appeared with Ghost in tow, his hair matting down, thick curls collecting the rain. She smiled at him, but received nothing, he pressed by her, the white dog pushing into her knees.

"Jon?" Her voice crumbled in the air, as he pursued nothing in particular, hand bound tightly to the wire lead. She followed behind quietly now, questions in her throat and her hair drenched down her back. The rain was heavier now, colder than when it had begun, and lightning left scars in the sky and thunder cracked across the fields. Ghost tugged uncomfortably, growling and pressing his body to the muddy floor.

"He's scared, Jon." She called out over the rumbling thunder, and Jon stopped. Not for her, but to look at the ranch towards his right. The house was tainting them with its inner glow, being pounded on by the quickening rain, and the dripping sign read "_Lannister Ranch_" in gold and red. He ventured on, as people appeared from within, calling out to him, cursing at him. He looked as if he wanted to tear them apart; the boy struggled not to hear their taunts, practically dragging his dog along, eventually dropping the lead after it had sliced his palm. Ghost tore through the mud and back the way they came and Jon looked on if nothing had happened.

"Why are you doing this?" She shouted over the drumming rain, and he turned to face her, drenched from head to toe and smiling. Why was he smiling? What had he done?

Dany lunged for his injured hand, enclosing it in hers.

An approaching truck swerved around them, honking, and Jon's face fell when he recognized it as his own, filled with Starks. His siblings would be waiting for him, and he knew that. Her hand went for his face, covered with defeat, but he shied away from her.

"I've made a terrible mistake." He shouted over the noise, sputtering out the rain that dripped along his mouth. "I've really fucked up this time. You won't like it- you won't be happy about it. I've really fucked up." His hand brushed back his sodden curls.

"Me too- I think we were meant to fuck up together!" She called to him, laughing at their misfortune, their wet clothes, their rotten backstories. Her hands slid around his waist, and her chin propped up on his chest, and he remained still, straining to stare down at her.

The wind picked up, blowing her wet skirt up and sticking it to their joined bodies, blinding them with water.

They were both laughing now. And sniffling, but mostly laughing because this was all they had- wet clothes and each other's company. They would have to make the best of the life they were given. Taking it in doses like bitter medicine, knowing the outcome would be worth it once they had swallowed. Living was like this, sunny one moment forcing precautions for a storm that might never come. It will remain like that till they die, moving onto to the next bastard and broken thing.

Lightning cracked around them, and the sirens went off, crying through the lands, warning about floods and dangerous winds. Jon bundled her beneath his arms, leading them back to the ranch. The visibility was hard and blurry, the wind forced the raindrops to bounce off the slick ground and fog up around their feet. They ran to the barn, the red paint was all they could make out in the storm, running inside and barring it closed. Ghost and the other dogs were wet, but kenneled in the back; the handiwork of Ned.

Jon shakily texted Robb something along the lines of, _"in the barn, don't come out, we'll head in when it lightens up", _and he sat his phone on the end of the stalls, rushing over to draw the horse blankets from the cupboards and cover up the frightened, shivering animals. He noticed now how cold he was, how drenched he was; but Dany was in a sundress, poor thing was shaking uncontrollably.

"C-come 'ere," He motioned to her, lighting up an old cast iron heater that sat beside the back. They never used it; because Ned was afraid the barn would burst into flames if it was left unattended. Her teeth were chattering, and his hand went to rubbing her arms. She grinned at him, her lips were going purple.

"If this s-st-st- storm d-doesn't let up, we'll g-get Hypoth-th-ermia…" she managed to get out, smiling like it was a joke. "We sh-should take off thes-se clothes…"

_Nice Dany, you sound like a pervert._

"Y-yeah, you're right." He agreed with a nod, droplets of rain falling from his hair and littering the hay. He handed her a horse blanket, gently prodding her around the corner. She went towards the back, in a dark stable filled with spiders and rusty sickles, if she were to fall mid-dress she'd be forced to die in a compromising way. She shed the dress with ease, it sloshed to the ground with a plop, and she hung it up from a rusty industrial sized hook that swung above. Should she leave her panties on? That'd be weird if she had them off, right? They were soaked, and grew cold against her skin.

She thought of them being naked together in a secluded area, small fire roaring and the storm outside relentless. It sounded like a scene from those corny sex novels, only this was real, and Dany wasn't a sultry vixen. Just an awkward girl that grew into a woman's body without the instruction manual.

Jon though, he was literally a character that resided in those yellow pages, a buff ranch-hand with a dark hair. He was what plenty of women dreamed of fucking behind their husband's backs. Too bad he didn't come with an instruction manual either; otherwise that idiot could rule the world.

Dany was starting to feel hot- not necessarily in the correct use of the word, because she was cold as shit, but as in the biblical sense. Her stomach clenched as an idea popped into her head. She was gonna go for it.

The barn was now lit with oil lanterns, and had a tender glow to it. Dany stepped into the clearing with numb feet, catching Jon as he was removing his jeans. He glanced at her for a second, and then drew his eyes to the hay laden floor. Dany was still shivering audibly, drawing herself beside him in the sexiest way she could produce mid-thaw.

"What 're you doin'?" Jon asked with a sniffle, folding his pants over his forearm. Her cheeks flushed and she licked her dry lips; watching him stand there, glistening with rain, boxers clinging to him, dark hair curling about and sticking to his redden face. Her frozen fingers unhinged themselves from the plaid blanket, letting it flood to the ground silently. Both stood gawking at one another in their undergarments; Dany wore an evil smirk, and Jon's face was blank with confusion. His jaw went slack.

"What are you doing?" He asked again, serious this time, shuffling with uncertainty. She twisted shyly in front of him, not used to having an audience at this level of undress.

"Taking your mind off things." She coo'd, stepping towards him; but he reared away. _Okay, try that again._ Her hand went for his neck, but that gave him cause to back up into the stall, stirring a resting horse. "What's wrong? I have a gift for you- d-don't you want it?"

"I can't." He said simply, his hands up defensively, trying his hardest to focus on her eyes.

"Why not?"

"Because I can't fuck that up again," He gave a ragged exhale, "listen, Dany, I really-_really_ like you, but…"

"But?" She crossed her arms over her wet bra, blinking up at him in rage and embarrassment.

"-I don't want to father any more bastards." Her face fell with confusion. "Listen, at the party… I hooked up with someone… my ex. Her name is Ygritte, a-and she thinks she's pregnant…"

Dany didn't respond to that like she should have; her voice calm and lowered. "_Thinks?_"

"Knows…"

"And you're sure it's yours?" Her voice rose as she stepped closer to the fire, and Jon's head shook, tossing his curls every which way.

"No. I don't. But I'm the only dumb-fuck I know that would forget about things like protection in a situation like that."

"Do you love her?" She asked with a noticeable break, and his head shook again.

"No."

His voice was sure, and there was truth in it. Dany smiled at him, and felt sorry for herself the second time that month.

"Well Jon… if it is your baby. I'll love it too, okay?"

"Are you sure? You can back out of this while you still can," his eyebrows were lifted, and he was conflicted between forcing her away and drawing her nearer.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm pretty hooked on you, you know?" She laughed whole-heartedly, and his eyes crinkled when he smiled. "Okay. Anything else we need to cover?"

"Um, yeah, one more thing."

"Oh god Jon," she guffawed despite how worried she actually was, "how many Snow-bastards do I have to mother?"

"How many do you want to mother?" His voice went up with hopefulness, and she became more nervous than before, still smiling because she loved it.

"As many as I can." And his head dipped down with chuckles, "don't laugh! I'm going to open a Snow Ranch, and little Jons can run free and- stop making fun of me, Jon Stark! I mean it!"

"There are no more babies, no need for that-"

"Well, what is it then?"

"Okay, uh-I've joined the Army. I leave in August."

Dany's breath caught in her lungs; out of all the things she thought he would say, that was not one of them. "H-how long?"

"5- maybe 4 years…" His dark eyes met with hers, "I'm sorry."

She was angry. She thought they were going to be alright, she thought they could handle everything _together_. As in, close proximity. But it complicated things immensely. She sniffled, "okay."

"It was a little after I met you- I didn't think we'd get what we _have_."

"Okay."

"Dany." He used a stern tone, one identical to that of a parent or a teacher. Her eyes flickered to him. She sat down on the stony ledge beside the fire place.

"Can I tell you something? My brother was a bad person. He'd hit me if I looked at him in the wrong way, he'd beat me when he was bored, and touch me when he was drunk. The morning you dropped me off, I stood up to face him and he took me into my bedroom and tried to rape me." She rubbed her nose and fluttered her watery eyes, "_Okay_, I thought,_ this is pretty fucked up, how could anyone want to live in a world that fucks people over like that?_ Like the current was too strong, and we got washed away with it…

"But we land on the beach, and try again. Some try and try but get pounded into the rocks and the sand and drown. I'd like to think that I made it over that wave that day, and I got to live because someone saw my efforts- like, some stronger, better swimmer helped me over and gave me a second chance. I think Drogo spared me so I could help you… you don't have to fight it alone Jon. This is just another thing you have to do, and I'm going to make sure you don't get stuck in the rocks."

Jon looked tired. He was just _so_ overwhelmed. His tears mingled with the rain and Dany held him to her, kissing his face and kissing his lips. Kisses that were sad and happy, and some with dreams in between them. Everything was going to be fine, a weight was lifted, and everything was going to be fine.

"I think I love you," he breathed out into her cheek, afraid to even admit it because it sounded ridiculous and sappy.

"I think I love you too." She returned, conjuring more kisses from him. "Do you still want that present?"


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I decided that Dreams- by Bastille and Gabrielle Aplin is DanyxJon's couple song, so if you're really into this ff, give it a go! It's a great cover!~ Foxy

Chapter thirteen: Jon

The barn was such a terrible place to love a person. Wet dust, itchy hay, leaky roof, and various animals. It wasn't exactly his ideal place to woo someone, but Dany wasn't one to care; excited, scared, and embarrassed, she laid the plaid blankets along the ground, making some fort, as if she were a child again. A child about to take a big step into her adult life.

The barn loft creaked, and the rain drops thrummed loudly closer towards the top. Jon could see his breath up here, digging around in the stored Christmas items for Theon's stash, for whenever he could coax a girl in there, finally finding what he needed with numb fingers. He slid down the ladder, rubbing feeling back into his shoulders, reading the names on the foil packets and grimacing at their unappealing nature.

"Uuh, okay, you have a choice." Jon called to the figure behind the blankets, her silhouette appearing across the plaid, "here we have _Fire Hot_…'s got like, cinnamon scented stuff on it, _Ice-Ice-Baby_, 's got…. I dunno ice stuff on it- or _X-tasty_, 's got- ew, no- never mind, not that one".

"Which one do you usually use?" Her voice fell from behind the stripes; the innocence in it was evident, as was the shaking.

"None. These aren't mine, they're from Theon's secret stash." Jon searched the packets for warnings, " _if irritation occurs_… okay, definitely not _Fire Hot_."

"Isn't there any… normal ones?"

"I know," he agreed with the uncertainty in her question, "I'm not too keen on using these either. Here, I'll bring them in and you can read them."

Jon tried to find an entrance in the fort, all the while thinking about sex and the fact that the blankets were a fire hazard. Thankfully, it was warm inside with a nice romantic glow about the fire pit, and Dany sat on the fairly cushioned ground, picking hay pieces from the fleece. He made the mistake of tossing them to her when she wasn't looking, and the silver ribbon smacked her in the chin.

"Pfft- sorry! You okay?"

She spat loudly, rubbing her mouth free of whatever germs sat on its surface. "Wow, so romantic, thanks."

"Give me a break, it's been a while." Jon plopped across from her, warming his shivering arms in front of the fire, smiling at the horrified look on her features.

"I don't want to use a condom named _Ice-Ice-Baby_ to lose my v-card," Dany admitted with disgust, letting them fall to the ground with a metallic slither.

"I have some in my room- if you want to wait till later."

"No, I've already mentally prepared myself." She said with admirable determination, her fists in front of her shaking with excitement. The wind smashed into a wall with a bang, causing them to jump. "So, let's get this thing done."

"Don't say that," Jon scrunched his nose, "sounds like you have something more important to do."

"Okay, how about: _make love to me, Jon_?"

"That's a little better."

"It's as good as it's going to get."

Jon kissed her simply with a chuckle, his hand pulled her face closer and her cold hands went to his shoulders. His mouth abandoned hers, so he could kiss the distance from her mouth to her ear, kissing the sensitive spot behind her ear. She jolted and her shoulder went up to block him, and she laughed with embarrassment.

"Calm down…" He whispered, rubbing the base of her neck, causing her body to go slack. Dany was so inexperienced- so awkward, he couldn't help but smile.

His mouth found the spot again, kissing it with more intent, wanting to leave marks on her skin. He could smell her body-wash again, taking him back to the night of the party, their bodies pressed closer than they were now. Her eyes were shut, fingers pressed into his shoulders, mouth opened in the slightest. He took it as an invitation, going back to them with more urgency than the time before, biting her bottom lip, forcing a small sigh from her. His tongue traced the opening of her lips parting them to deepen the kiss, causing her to moan into his mouth.

Jon's hands slid down her back, tracing the curves and stopping on her bottom, pulling her closer to him. The thunder sounded loudly from above, causing her to jump up and bite his lip.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm sorry!" She said rapidly, covering her mouth, he touched his lip and chuckled. Jon said nothing; gripping her hips, pressing his fingers into the exposed skin and pulling her back to him again, nibbling on her throat. Dany reacted with a yelp, her nails biting into the back of his neck.

She began to roll her hips against his, breath hitching, fingers now tracing his stomach and chest. Jon let out a moan against her skin, and a competitive smile sat on her lips. The brunette was pushed down onto the fleece blankets, and he hovered over her. Dany's hands went to her back, playing with the clasps of her bra as he seated himself between her legs, returning to kiss her face. It fell away, but her hands went to her breasts out of shame.

"It's okay," he coaxed, running his hands up and down her side and soon they fell away as well. His hands went to cup them softly, and she arched into them with a whimper; he brought his mouth to the sensitive skin, gently at first then more motivated, sucking, leaving love bites. Jon adored the sight of them, the feel of them- and he was determined to let her know.

His eager hand went to one, kneading it, as his mouth went to the other, taking his tongue to her nipple, only sucking when she began to beg. Mewls sounded from her parted lips, and her hips moved, aching for attention. His free hand went down and rubbed her through the thin fabric, curling and uncurling his fingers against her, finally they slid past the elastic band of her panties to play with her wet skin; the teasing only drove her mad, leaving angry red scratches across his back.

Jon trailed wet, hungry kisses down the flat stomach. It been so long since he actually made love with a woman, his last girlfriend was into feral fucking whereas he enjoyed the slow teasing of a writhing girl, someone melting to his touch- that was what he did best, and that was where he felt at home.

"W-what are you doing?" Dany whispered in a daze, confused as he stopped at her legs. She only knew the main mechanics of sex, and he wasn't surprised that she was surprised.

"It's okay… trust me," he said in a voice husky with lust. She sat back with a worried expression, and he kissed the inner softness of her thigh, his breath hot against her, pulling a loud moan from her. Her hands fell to her pink panties, pushing them down part of the way for him, and Jon complied, pulling them past her legs and discarding them to the floor.

Dany's red face turned towards the fire, and her hands gripped the blankets, but much to his surprise, her legs remained open to him. His mouth went to her, giving one tentative lick along the length, and she tensed. He continued with more confidence, tasting her with a merciless tongue. Kissing, swirling, sucking, probing, and she arched into his every touch, and he explored with determination.

She exhaled sharply, bucking hips towards his eager mouth, his hand pressing her down by the stomach, steadying her. His middle finger entered slowly, and his rhythm matching the drumming rain outside. She whimpered his name, her thighs pinning him in place as her fingers found his hair, pulling, causing his arousal to persist noticeably, moaning into her. He continued to suck the small sensitive nub, making no notion to SLOW, and her hips buckled under his palm.

Her cries built up, calling out for mercy as something strong twisted inside her. She let out a sobbing moan, her toes curled and her body shook, lightening flooding to all regions of her body, leaving her limbs twitching and exhausted. Ragged breath and sweaty bodies. Dany lied in the warm euphoric bliss that followed, lips parted as she panted, eyes on the dark ceiling of the barn.

"Oh my god," she said finally, a smile on her bruised lips as she pulled his mouth to hers in some attempt to congratulate; her movements were slow and sluggish, and she could taste her satisfaction on his mouth. Jon kissed her gently, proud of his handiwork on her, his hand resting on her heaving chest, her body aglow with a job well done.

"Let me know when you're ready," he whispered, lying beside her on the blankets. This was about her pleasure, and he had to remind himself that, despite the throbbing pain he felt. She rolled over to greet his face, her hand touching his cheek.

"Where did you learn that?" She giggled, and Jon smiled with embarrassment.

"Practice." He chuckled, brushing hair from her face, and she withdrew her lip, shier than before, letting her hand wander to his waist.

"That was pretty amazing."

"We could do it all the time, if you want."

"Promise?" And Jon nodded, even though he knew that he couldn't do it all the time once he had left for the Army. She rolled him over onto his back, peppering kisses onto his cheek and jaw, going over to suck on his ear as he had earlier. Without warning, Dany climbed onto him, straddling his stomach with her hands pushed down onto his chest.

"I'm yours, and you are mine," she demanded, pressing her forehead to his. Her pale skin was lit with the glow of the fire, her eyes fierce from beneath her hair. He agreed silently, and she bent down to kiss his collarbone.

"Ready?" He sighed past her head, his heart drummed in his chest. She grabbed the silver ribbon from where it was thrown; ripping out the one she wanted. He slid her off of him, letting her to wait eagerly as he removed his shorts to roll it on. It burned upon contacted, forcing him to gasp loudly. It felt like Jon was literally fucking ice, kind of painful in a good way, but he had yet to determine whether he liked it or not. She stared at him, taking his naked vulnerability into her memory for safe keeping.

Her hand reached out and touched him, stroking the whole length in attempt to become familiar. He bit back a moan at her touch, she clearly wasn't afraid like some girls, lingering as long as she pleased. Jon lifted her up to put her on her back, but she struggled against it.

"I want on top."

"You sure?" He asked in confusion, but she clearly wanted it to be so, shoving him back to the fleece by his shoulders. Dany straddled him once more, dragging her fingers over his abs before reaching back to grab with shaky hands. Upon seeing her nervousness, Jon forced himself to remind her,"-we can stop whenever okay? Don't feel like you have to do it."

"I know," she whispered, pressing the tip to her and slowly sitting downward. Far too slow for Jon, in fact, it was almost agonizing for him to hold himself back from trusting upwards into her. But Dany took her time, her brows knitted, and thoughts unreadable. She was tight- more so than he remembered Ygritte being, and he let out a groan, hands grabbing her waist with bruising force. Purity gone in one fell swoop.

"_Fuck_," he breathed out as soon as she reached the base, but Dany seemed to look away, face twisted with pain. "…are you alright?"

"It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it was going to… but it's pretty _uncomfortable_…"

"Do you want to stop?" And she stared for a moment, before giving a brisk nod. "We can try again later, okay?"

She pulled herself from him, and her eyes widened at the sight of the blood she left on him. She choked out an apology, "I'm sorry."

"What? Don't be," He said sitting up, "sometimes it hurts, and sometimes it doesn't. Everybody's different, Dany."

"Are you mad?" She said covering her face so that he could not see.

"No, why would I be?" She shrugged in response, "listen, it was your choice, okay, as long as you're happy and don't regret it, I'm good."

"You sure…?"

"Yeah." Part of him earned for release, but he pushed it a side. This wasn't some random fuck, it was something more special, something more intimate. It was love-making at its finest, and he would have to wait. "Go get dressed okay? We'll go inside once the storm dies down… there's a spigot over there… you can, uh, clean yourself if you want."

She stood up on shaky legs, retrieving her discarded undergarments, and left the blanket fort. Jon pulled off the burning rubbers, more than happy to be free of it, grabbing his boxers and exiting the plaid nest. He would have to wait for his arousal to die down considerably before he could even attempt to put on his pants, and they were still damp to the touch.

Instead he went to his phone, picking it up to read, but there was no text. In fact, his initial text for Robb never sent, interfered by the storm outside; Jon pretty much cursed the families cheap network, letting his phone drop to the hay. Dany returned from the dark part of the barn, legs wet beneath her dress and shoes in hand.

"Hey," he said to her as she approached, her face was sad and her eyes were drawn to the floor, "you okay?"

She nodded and rubbed her face, "yeah, I mean, it's pretty sore… but yeah, I'm good."

"Then what's up?"

"I just- I dunno, I thought it was going to be like one of those romance novels. You know, people humping like rabbits while the rain rages outside? Doesn't that sound appealing?"

"Well, yeah, that's why they write them that way, nobody wants to read about the arm-crushing or the positions that don't work- it just doesn't sell."

"I guess," she smiled now, "thank you."

"You're welcome," he returned while pulling on his shirt, although he didn't know what he was being thanked for, "we'll try again later, 's gonna take some time before it'll be awesome 'rabbit-humping-rain-sex'."

"Do you still love me… even though you didn't… you know."

"Is that what you're worried about?"

"A little, yeah."

"Yeah, I still do. You kinda gave me something a little more important than me cumming, don't you think?"

"You don't really believe that, do you?" She laughed; once again, answering his question with a question. Jon figured her brother was the reason she didn't think of it as being special, probably being constant in reminding her too.

"Don't think so little of your virginity," he reprimanded, hopping into his jeans and buttoning them at the waist, thinking about how much he regretted throwing his away to his first girlfriend. "It meant a lot to me, okay."

Dany remained quiet for a second, recycling his words over in her mind. "How is it you always know what to say?"

"I don't, sometimes I can really fuck things up."

She gave a curt nod, stepping closer to him and embracing him. Jon didn't know how to react, patting her arms and she squeezed tightly. The phone rang from its perch on the hay laden ground.

"Um, I've got to-" Jon tried reaching for it, but Dany was keen on not setting him free- and clearly didn't understand the importance of him receiving a signal. "-Dany, the phone-"

Her only response was giggling, tightening her grip. Jon leaned, taking her with him, and she laughed more so when her feet left the floor. He retrieved it, pressing it with difficulty to his ear.

"He-" Jon adjusted himself some more," hello?"

"_Jon? Jon! Where are you two? I was so worried!"_ Cat's voice sounded from the end, alongside other voices. _"I tried calling-"_

"_Is that Jon?"_ Cried Arya from the back, _"is he dead?!"_

"_Arya, please-"_ Cat grumbled.

"_Jon, if you die, I can have your cds right, not Robb?"_ Theon's laughter came from the other side as well as Robb's protest.

"_Boys! Please!"_ Their mother yelped, turning back to the phone.

"Yeah, we're fine. We got to the barn just before it got really bad."

"_Thank God!"_ She sighed, her voice turning from the phone, _"-they're in the barn!"_

"Yeah, it seems as light as it's gonna get, we're going to head in." Dany had released him by now, pulling the blankets down and folding them. She lifted the packets of condoms to him, "-Uuuhhhhhh, I'd just hang on to those, we'll toss them- too gross to keep."

"_X-tasty_?" She mouthed with a sour look.

"Yeah- _X-tasty_." He laughed back to her.

"_What? Are you talking to me, Jonathan?"_

"Huh- no, not you." He said with shock, shifting the phone to the other ear, "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

"_Okay, be careful!"_

"Yeah." He hung up and went to tying his shoes on, noticing her sandals in her hand. "-it's muddy out, so you better hop on."

He opened the barn door a bit, the storm was still going, but not as hectic, just wind and rain. Jon bent down in the piggyback position, and Dany just looked at him with a _'really?'_ look.

"Jon."

"Oh shit, I forgot." And he did actually forget that Dany was sore and wouldn't be able to straddle anything for a while. "Uh, I'll carry you bride-style."

He lifted her up, and she latched onto him, kissing his cheek as they wandered out into the rain. And he returned the kiss because he felt it was appropriate. Both headed back into the house, both were reluctant to leave behind the barn and its atmosphere.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter fourteen: Dany

She couldn't help but feel a tad bit disappointed in herself. What kind of girlfriend takes without giving? Sure, Jon said it was okay, but was it really? Everything felt good- up until the point it didn't. Maybe they did it wrong- maybe she should have let him do it? He was the expert after all, probably screwing a bunch of girls, and all of them were probably great. Dany was sore and at her lowest. She wanted to cry, but she promised she wouldn't.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Urged Cat with both hands, propping the screen-door open with her hip, a look of worry on her face when she noticed the brunette being carried, "what's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Jon stated a little too fast, setting Dany down on the doormat, ushering her inside the warm house, "'s just muddy."

"Jon!" Yelped a small girl drowning in a sweater, flinging herself upwards at him, shouldering him in the chin, "I thought you died- did you find Nymeria?!"

Jon gave her a hug, setting her down in the kitchen, "no, I'm sorry, Arya."

"She's out there alone," Arya said stoically staring through the fogged windowpane, and Jon nodded with a lowered head rubbing her back the way he did with Dany. Just then an older red-headed girl slid into the kitchen and embraced him around the neck; eyes squinted close with fear for tearing. Jon returned the hug, glancing up at his smiling girlfriend.

Cat pressed a mug of black coffee into her palms, and Dany soon realized her arms were crawling with goosebumps, "you poor thing! We have to find you warmer clothes! Sansa, could you lend her a change of clothes? Those winter ones your Aunt Lysa sent? They're too big for you anyways…"

Dany sipped it, despite her fondness for creamer and sugar, watching the red-headed teenager release Jon to return up the steps. She immediately went for her bag on the table to see if Missie texted, but the weather interfered with her service. Cat sighed over her shoulder, "at least we still have electricity… I'd have you call your mother on the house phone, but lines are down all over…"

"Who's that?" A young boy asked, roaming into the kitchen to see Jon, rubbing his eyes as he glared across at her. Sansa ran back in with clothes in hand, also staring at the brunette for the first time.

"Bran, that's Jon's girlfriend, mum told you." Arya snapped, still clinging desperately to her brother. Cat nodded along with Arya's words, shoving the clothes into Dany's chest with a little too much force. Theon and Robb were now in the kitchen, along with their father, who was holding another small boy. Good gracious, what a big family. It was always just her and Viserys, so this was a tad overwhelming.

"EVERONE OUT OF THE KITCHEN!" Cat called over her children, also extremely overwhelmed, pushing on her husband and her two older boys. Dany flooded out one of the large doorways, followed by Jon and Arya, who was laughing now, having forgotten her lost dog. Jon grabbed Dany's cold hand with an even colder one, leading the trio up the stairs and into the boy's room. He threw his giggling sister down on the bed closest to the door, and she immediately went to bouncing on it.

"You can change in here if you want," he laughed breathlessly, already getting to the removal of his own. Dany watched him carefully for a second, because she was already missing the sight of him and guilt flooded to her once more. Arya wasn't paying any attention, digging through someone's collection of candy and comic books; clearly this family was comfortable enough to dress around one another. Dany twisted her back to him, and he stopped climbing out of his jeans long enough to unzip her.

Robb and Theon entered the room boxing each other, only stopping when they noticed a female presence. Jon glared at them, sliding on a long sleeved shirt. They said nothing, but Theon ran over to where Arya was with a 'hey!', chasing her from digging any further, and she ran down the stairs with a peppermint secured in her teeth.

Dany bounced into the skinny jeans Sansa lent to her, grimacing at the tightness about the crotch, making a sound of discomfort. Jon looked towards her with his eyebrows raised, and she shook her head at him, smiling a faux smile. She noticed Robb watching her change; if he had his way, she'd be his girlfriend and it would be him she would be undressing beside.

"Did you folks have fun?" Theon asked from his bed, tongue out through his teeth. Jon sat back on his own bed to pull on a fresh pair of jeans, lowering his brows at the other boy.

"Shut the fuck up, Theon."

"No seriously- I mean, crazy weather right…?" He trailed as Dany struggled in the sweater, after it was over her breasts his eyes fell to the floor, "sooo, that's not a bunch of condoms falling out the back pocket of your pants?"

The couple drew their horrified gazes to the floor where several silver packets were sliding out from Jon's discarded jeans. Dany forgot that they were supposed to throw them away, they were far to gross for anyone to keep. Jon snatched them all up, and strode over to Theon's bed.

"Actually I found your stash," Jon said in an as-a-matter-of-fact kind of way, the other boy's face dropped as he recognized Ex-tasty among the others, "I brought them in to show Cat, so she knows that not only are you a whore-monger, but you like filthy-gross sex and dick-burns."

"Ohhhhhh!" Robb called from his corner, snatching the ribbon before Theon could, reading the packets carefully, "these are so fucking nasty! HAHA-"

"Stop it-" Growled Theon, who was clearly upset, but Robb bounced up and read the names with laughter.

"Is this one edible? Do girls really eat this off of you? Gross!"

Jon returned to where Dany was, watching his work unfold as Robb tore out of the room, the strand flying behind him as if he were a kite, Theon close on his heels.

"It won't be long before Theon notices Ice Ice Baby missing…"

"Maybe he won't?" Dany said with far too much worry in her tone, sitting on his bed to pull stockings on her numb feet. Jon fell back into the blankets, causing her to bounce up and him to notice her horrendous Christmas-sweater.

"Oh my god that is by far the ugliest thing I have ever seen."

"What? I think it's cute." She laughed melodically, pouncing on him like a kitten, clutching his shirt tightly. She leaned down to press her lips to his nose, and his hands went to her waist. She sneezed on him.

"Oh god-"

"I'm sorry!"

"Way to ruin the romance, Dany," he grumbled, sitting up to wipe his face free of her spit, " A+."

"I said sorry-" She yelped at him, provoking a chuckle, "I guess I'm getting a cold…"

Without out a word, Jon grabbed his comforter and smothered her with it, rolling her up in it; he laid on top of the blanketed mound.

"Jon!" She gave a muffled giggle from beneath his weight; he adjusted himself from on top. "It's not that type of cold."

"Shhh." He whispered with a laugh through the blankets, his hands grabbed through to where her stomach was. "Coochie-coo?"

"NO. DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE." She warned, recognizing the sound from her childhood, kicking her knees up into him. But he tickled her stomach, causing her to thrash and scream very loudly for help. Her hand was freed, and Dany lunged for one of his pillows, beating him mercilessly. "I. SAID. NO."

"OW-JESUS CHRIST-"Jon yelped between beatings, trying his hardest to slither away.

Dany flung herself on top of him, sitting on his back, speaking in the same taunting tone as him. "Coochie-coo?"

"No- haha, please," he begged, trying to pull himself from beneath her, rolling around to face her; but she simply repeated the words, "Dany- I'm not even joking, don't fucking do it-"

"What is going on up here?" Cat called from the doorway, finding her step-son beneath the brunette.

"UM- It's not how it looks," Dany shimmied off of him. Catelyn remained deterred, not saying anything for several silent moments, air thick with awkwardness.

"Jesus Christ Jon, at least lock your door," Cat growled with a whisper, clutching her chest, "-the children can hear you…"

"Wha- no, we weren't-"Jon argued while sitting up, interrupted by the older woman.

"Robb and Theon found your… contraceptives… and to be completely honest, I'm disappointed. Ex-tasty? Jon. I raised you better…"

"You... You serious?" Jon choked out. Somewhere between the attic and the kitchen, Theon convinced Robb it would be funnier to pin the blame on Jon, and they were right, it was funny. Fucking hilarious. "Those aren't mine, those are Theon's."

"Jon, don't go pinning things on your brothers because you're ashamed to be sexually active. Listen, it's a hormone-thing- all boys go through it, but you can't have sex all the time, there are diseases- it's better to just… you know, touch yourself."

"Are we really talking about this?" Jon groaned as he covered his flushed face, and Dany shifted uncomfortably. "Isn't there a deadly storm outside that may or may not strand us for days? Can we not talk about whacking off?"

"Jonathan! Watch your mouth! The children- we mustn't corrupt the children!"

"Um, ma'am?" Dany piped up, hands clutched into her lap; both turned to her, "those are my condoms. Not Jon's."

The mother stiffened, glaring Dany down as if she wanted to crush her. She eyes drew up to Jon and her voice was harsh, "dinner-time you two. Wash up before you come down."

And she slammed the door, her footsteps disappearing down the steps.

"Why did you say that?"

"I didn't want you to get in trouble…" she whimpered, kneading his pillow with her nervous hands.

"I'm always in trouble," he grumbled, a hint of unreasonable anger, "besides, who fucking cares if I use an edible condom, I'm 19."

"Yeah," she agreed, smiling at him because she was imagining an edible condom. And he smiled back because he was too.

"I should think before I talk, huh?"

"What do you think that tastes like?"

"What?"

"Ex-tasty?"

"I don't know." His face twisted with disgust," probably not good after it's been on- and in- people."

"Ew!" She screeched; biting her lip with a devilish smirk, "I dare you to eat it."

"Uhhhhmm," Jon looked at the ceiling, and Dany was shocked he would even consider it, "how much would you pay me?" She shrugged with a giddy grin. "I'm not eating it until you show me the MONEY."

"I'll eat it, but only if you wear it~"

"Don't be gross, Dany."

"I'm trying to be kinky for you-"she groaned, hiding her face in the pillow because now she was embarrassed and wanted to die, "you dumbass."

"Well I can't tell- your sexy voice sounds like your sarcastic one. You're the dumbass."

"JON-AND-DANY-DINNER." Shouted Arya from the bottom of the stairs, mouth probably full of food.

"Dany, you'll be sleeping in Sansa's room," Ned smiled at her, only seconds earlier did he compliment her on her beauty and CONGRATULATE his son, "just till the roads are clear enough for you go home."

Sansa opened her mouth to make some sort of response, but instead she smiled towards the brunette. Dany wasn't sure if Sansa hated her, or liked her. But Arya protested, she wanted Jon's girlfriend to sleep in her room.

"No nonsense," Cat warned Jon directly with a fork, forcing laughter from the other children. Jon stared at his plate with a blank expression, taking the laughter as if he were used to it. Dany let her hand under the table to give his knee a reassuring pat.

"Thank you so every much- for everything, I'm very grateful," she said to direct the attention away from him.

"Of course," Robb said with a smile, one that made her uncomfortable, touching her shoulder. He apparently still thought there was a chance; Dany would have to remind herself not to lead him on.

* * *

><p>Everyone finished up, but Dany offered to stay and clean up with Cat. Jon probably went to tuck Arya, Bran and Rickon in, so this would be some great bonding time for the two women. One raising the white flag- also Dany loved doing the dishes.<p>

"I'm sorry." Dany whispered to her, cutting the silence. "I never meant to threaten the purity of your home."

"Well," Catelyn said softly, "at least you apologized. The last one didn't."

"Ygritte?"

"Wild little thing." She scoffed, flicking her hands free of suds, "she cussed all the time, dragged Jon around… I'm glad she's gone."

"I knew you cared about him." She grinned widely, but Cat gave her a look, and the smile ceased existence.

"What? Of course I do!" She sounded offended, "he's one of my babies…"

"He never calls you mom…"Dany said to the sink, voice quiet but the damage was loud.

"Yes… well. It just doesn't seem right for him to."

"But you just said he was your baby," she argued, harsher than before. "It doesn't matter if he's your blood or not, you raised him up and loved him- that's what a mother does."

"You haven't been here long enough to judge me." Cat wiped her hands dry, saying nothing more. She left the kitchen, leaving the rest to her guest.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter fifteen: Jon

12:45 PM

Jon had just showered, his hair dripped water down his back and his reflection stared at him. The razor sat lazily in his fingers once again, finally being lifted to shave his face, careful not to cut. Some scissors were found in a drawer under a bunch of crap, and he took it to his hair, littering the sink with some of his curls. It'd been a while since he'd clean-up for anybody.

He exited the bathroom, and both the other boys had commended him for his work, they knew how much he loved his hair. He slipped on a pair of boxers and a Beatles band-shirt, returning to the bathroom for his pajama bottoms and a final glance over. He didn't even look like himself, and he thought that was a good thing.

"Jon, we're gonna pull an all-nighter, you in?" Robb offered, plugging his game console into the wall. Jon's nose wrinkled at the idea.

"Fuck you guys, you told Cat those condoms were mine."

"It was funny though, right?" Robb chuckled over his t-shirt covered shoulder, forcing his brother to shake his head- grimacing at the lightness, and Theon started to laugh because it was his shitty idea in the first place.

"No, my girlfriend had to take the blame."

"Is _that_ what you are? _Already?_" Robb returned with a little agitation, crawling to his usual spot on the floor, voice flourishing with sarcasm.

"Yeah, and it's serious."

"_Really._" He said it less like a question and more like a sound of disbelief, "that's what you said about Ygritte."

Jon didn't like the mentioning of Ygritte, especially now she was mothering a bastard's bastard. Poor girl didn't deserve that; poor child didn't deserve that.

"What's your deal?"

"My _deal_ was that I had dibs first, and you swoop in and take my catch. That's not cool." He pointed an index at the other boy, "it's in the Men's rulebook."

"Well, first off, _don't_ talk about girls like that- they're not just notches in your bedpost," Jon warned, "secondly, do you know how times you've done the _exact_ same thing to me?"

"What- no I didn't."

"Yeah, you would. I'd get a crush on some girl at school, and the next week you're fucking her over on your bed and I have to listen to it- can't make eye contact with her for 4 whole years because you called dibs before I could? That fucking sucked. I think I get some slack."

Robb didn't say anything, just went back to his game with a grumbled sigh. Theon sat awkwardly with the controller in his palms, turning to agree with Jon in a quiet voice, "yeah-_yeah_, he did that to that one flute-player I was seeing."

"You weren't seeing her," Robb groaned back to the other boy, "You saw her bra-strap once and decided you were in love with her."

"I really liked her,"Theon said more to himself than anyone else, letting the controller slip to his bed as he rolled over to face the wall. Robb scoffed, probably because he thought it was overdramatic.

"She was lousy. I spared you."

"Robb. You should say you're sorry," Jon interjected from his dresser, shutting a drawer with a slam.

"What? I didn't know you liked those girls."

"Not me, I don't give a shit anymore," he lied, using his head to motion to the distant boy, curled into the wall.

"Theon. I'm sorry I took your lousy-flute-player." Theon rolled over and silently picked up the second controller, joining Robb on the floor with a solemn look. "See? Theon forgives me, you should too."

"Stop being a dick."

"Geez Jon, it's just sex. Get over it." Robb smirked, taking the wire into his mouth and chewing on it.

"Not for him, it wasn't." Jon looked over to the other boy, who was now looking back and forth between the two. Theon shook his head and lied.

"No, Robb's right. 's just sex, I didn't care about her, really."

"Whatever," Jon grumbled, sliding into his sheets, and pulling the blanket to his chin, "try to keep it down- I swear to god."

He could hear the rain bouncing off the top of the house, and his mind immediately went to thinking about the damage. So many things would be broken, skewed across the grass- probably some broken fences and unearthed pastures. Some redheaded woman crying herself to sleep because she had a baby inside her and was only just a baby herself; Jon had a lot of things to look forward to fixing.

Just as he was falling asleep, bundled up tightly in a warm mass, the covers were pulled off him and he was revealed to the frigid air. Cat stood over him with panic playing on her features.

"Jon, your father needs you in the barn."

"Mh-What-wait, why is he out there?" Jon croaked in a slow, sleep-broken voice.

"He was checking on the horses and the mare went into labor."

"You serious?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes and rolling from his bed, "of all the times to birth a freaking baby- why can't Robb do it?"

"Because you've done it a million times," Robb said from his vantage point on the ground, eyes transfixed on the television, "I don't know the first thing about babies. C'mon dude, you're a pro."

"Okay," Jon silently hissed, strutting over them to get to the door. He was so warm and fresh and clean- and not looking forward to the dark rainy mess that sat outside. He put one arm after the other into a random windbreaker he found at the door, tucking the bottoms of his pajama pants into a pair of yellow galoshes.

Oh god it was cold outside.

* * *

><p>2:16 AM<p>

"Thanks for the help Jon." Ned said from beneath his hood, rinsing the fluids from his coat with the outside spigot, his son standing with an absentminded numbness, staring at the mud on the ground. This was usually the time he would get ready for a run. Wow, he's got lazy.

" 's so weird, a storm-born colt."

"It's probably the stress of it all," Ned said with a cough, flinging the water into the cold night air, "come on, let's go to bed." They silently trekked towards the house, Ned turned and elbowed him. "Your girlfriend want a horse?"

"She'd probably say yes, but I don't think that's a good idea." Jon chuckled with a sore throat, desperately rubbing at it for relief. His leg hurt from where the mare struck him, and his body felt like it was melting from sleep deprivation.

"Why not? She could keep it here- she told me herself her birthday was next month."

"You're- you're serious? What about that buyer- Mr. Lannister?"

"He wanted a filly for his racehorse sires, a colt's no good to him," Ned laughed, rubbing his forehead and thinking about the lost financial opportunity.

"Oh." He stomped off the mud at the porch, blinking away raindrops, "I'll let you tell her then."

"Only if it survives the night," Ned promised, opening the door and letting his son in first. "Go on up to bed. I've got to go over to the Lannister Ranch, fuse blown and they need a replacement."

Jon peered out into the dim light finding his father's familiar face, "_now_- with the storm? What if you get shocked-"

"They're in the dark, Jon."

"So? Fuck 'em, they _killed_ Lady- probably even killed Nymeria."

" 's wrong with you," Ned growled, voice stern with disbelief, "I didn't raise you to be an incompetent child- _I raised you_ to be a man. And men help others, even if they did wrong."

"You're right," he said, feeling ashamed and angry simultaneously, "I'm sorry… did you want help?"

"It's just a fuse, nothing I can't handle- done it a million times," Ned wiped his mouth on his wet sleeve, hugging his son, "Night, Jon. Love you."

"G'night..."Jon grumbled into the hug, "…love you too."

* * *

><p>Jon returned to his room and found his brothers fast asleep in their beds, both snoring considerably- neither could make the night, apparently. The only light was from the porch, shining in from the windows above his bed- and his cellphone, alerting him of several texts.<p>

_Ygritte [text]:hey, I know it's late but you should stop by tomorrow_

_Ygritte [text]: unless you can't because the roads, then call me k?_

Jon dragged his cold, numb fingers across the screen to reply.

_Jon [text]: I'll do what I can_

_Ygritte [text]: thanx_

_Jon [text]: how are you?_

But no response came. She was probably fast asleep now- or lying her bed awake, because there was nothing else to do but feel sorry for yourself and watch the storm. Sleep sounded amazing.

Jon slid out of his muddy clothes, too tired to care as they fell to the floor, freeing him so that he may climb into his sheets. They were extremely cold against his bare skin, and he found himself shuffling inside of them to recreate the heat, all the while shivering and sniffling. He rolled to face the wall; he didn't even hear the door creak open and close.

"_Jon?"_ A voice whispered from the dark. He sat up clutching his blankets, recognizing Dany's voice. She probably heard them come in from outside and waited till she could follow him up the stairs.

"_Wha- why aren't you asleep? Scared the hell out of me..."_

"_I can't sleep in a strange house…" _She sounded pretty terrified, which perplexed him. _"Can I sleep in here with you… please?"_

"_Cat said 'no nonsense'."_

"_It's not nonsense- your house is big and scares me- I tried to imagine I was somewhere else, but I'd -_" Theon grunted and rolled over, causing her voice to grow quieter, _"-hear sounds and think about things under the bed or in the hallway…and Sansa sleeps with her door open and I see people looking in- I'm scared, just- please?"_

Jon squinted about the room, finally lifting his sheets to her, _"I'm going to get in a shit-ton of trouble…"_

"_You're always in trouble."_

Dany slithered in over him, kneeing him all over and apologizing as she curled between him and the wall. Jon sighed, climbing back under the sheets until he was chin-deep, trying to avoid contact with the girl.

"_Your feet are cold,"_ he complained into her direction.

"_Are you naked?"_

"_No, I've got shorts on- quit squirming." _She elbowed him in the stomach, and her leg kicked the sore spot from the mare.

"_Be the big spoon?"_ She whimpered toward him, and he obeyed without questioning, because he was a cuddler and desperately missed it. He tried closing his eyes, but she seemed restless at the creaking of the house, scratching whatever itched and moving her limbs in desperation for comfort.

"_Wanna listen to music?"_ She started to jam an ear-bud into his face before receiving a response, searching for his ear, _"Wha- did you shave? Where's the itchy stuff?"_

"_Oh my goddd- go to sleep."_ Jon grumbled taking her ear-piece and putting it in himself. Some soft music played in one ear as Dany whispered something he couldn't hear into the other, feeling her hand slither down between them.

"_Wha-"_ he shifted away from her body, _"what are you doing? You said no nonsense-"_

"_I was thinking we could try again."_

Robb rolled over on his side of the room, clearing his throat as he did and Jon tensed, waiting for the sure sign of heavy breathing.

"_Let's not, okay? No nonsense."_

"_At least let me-" _Her voice was washed over with the music.

"_What?"_

"_Can I touch you?"_ His body stiffened considerably, and he fought off her hands without strength because he honestly didn't mind the actual idea, he just didn't want to get chewed out by Cat; but one cold one snaked its way down onto the crotch of his boxers, sending tremors through him upon contact and his hands went slack.

"_Come on, I don't want to do this with my brothers in the room."_ He lied.

"_I just want to be spontaneous…"_

"_Be spontaneous when there aren't two sleeping boys several feet away, okay?"_

She twisted to face him, and her hand defiantly rubbed circles into the soft fabric.

"_I just want you to be as happy as I am."_ Her voice cracked, and Jon realized she was still worrying about earlier. He gave away with out any difficulty.

"_Fine."_

She pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth, searching desperately through the dark for the closeness she desired, her hand relentless. She wanted her way, and he was too submissive and sleep drunken to say no. Jon's mind trying wandering to many things, like how he didn't have a towel nearby, and how the tempo of this song only made things hotter, and how he should fuck her for Robb to hear, and how he kind of loved her a lot.

Dany placed the other ear-bud into his vacant ear, and went about suckling on his neck. Jon listened to the lyrics intently, forgetting about where he was or what was happening long enough to bite back any noise he would make. Her hand was down his waistband and was hard at work, and now he was absentmindedly rocking his hips along with it, head lolled back onto his pillow. He'd done it a thousand times, but this felt different- maybe it was because of the music, or because a girl was doing it. But it felt too good to be real. When it was all over, Jon was left with ragged breath and a numb, tired body, and she adorned herself on him, kissing his cheek and playing with his hair. She pulled the ear-buds from him, kissing before whispering into it.

"_Did you… was it good?"_

"_Yeah- thanks."_ Was all he could muster; part of him was embarrassed, the other part of him was even tired than before. And happy.

"_You were pretty loud."_ She giggled quietly into his neck.

"_I was?"_ He couldn't hear anything besides the music, and now he was looking through the dark at his brothers' beds.

"_The rain might have covered it up,"_ she assured him, _"it's loud up here."_

"_If not, that's okay, they deserve it."_

His arm pulled her up against his body, too tired to care about the mess. She didn't complain, wrapping her arms around his chest and letting her head fall onto his shoulder, putting in the abandoned ear-piece. For a while both of them stared towards the ceiling, letting the sound of rain and mumbling songs lull them into sleep.

"Jon." A voice called to him, but it wasn't Dany's. Cat leered over the couple, and he was certain she was going to yell at him. He waited for her to shout, but her face was stiff and she remained silent. Instead the older woman crumbled against the mattress, head down. Robb was the first one to embrace her, and Jon got dressed.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter sixteen: Dany

The Lannister's fuse was to be replaced. Ned was always known to keep a promise. A ladder was pressed to the side of the house, and Ned climbed it like he would any other day- ignoring the rain with the eldest Lannister boy holding the bottom steady. But for no reason but his own, the boy's hands abandoned the ladder, and the mud below the legs gave away, thrusting a soaked Eddard Stark to instinctively reach out and grip the bare wires. He died before an ambulance was contacted, and his body was left in the barn. Left in that cold, wet barn.

"Joffery?" Robb said, And Dany could see Jon tensing, his breath laboring.

"I should have…" Jon's somewhat calm demeanor was diminished as he threw the kitchen chair to the ground. And all the women jumped. But not Dany, she was use to her brother breaking down this way, and found herself awaiting a beating.

"Jon!" Sansa shouted, closing a pajama clad Arya against her.

"I hate him! I hate Joffery!" This sparked a screaming reaction from the younger girl, shouting from the tops of her lungs, throwing her fists into her sister, "I want him dead!"

"Arya!" Theon growled stoically as Rickon gave a startled sob, and the older boy stood, threatening to remove her from the room. Cat dropped to the table further and Dany rubbed her shoulders and whispered into her hair, letting the older woman wring her pajama top in her fists.

"I will kill him." Arya stated defiantly, speaking what everyone had been trying to push to the back of their minds.

"They just put him in the…. Like he was an animal…" Robb whispered into the palms of his hands, and the room fell silent. "Fucking-"

"Stop…" Cat sobbed, glancing at her children with red PUFFY EYES, stopping on Jon. Dany knew what she was thinking. He was the last to see Ned. He could have said something. It should have never had happened. And Jon reacted exactly as expected.

The boy could feel red-hot anger pulsing through him and poisoning his flesh. Kill. Kill. Kill- it was relentless, it was what he was breathing, feeling, hearing. He should have been there. He should have saved him. Kill. Kill. He was her brother, and everyone was Dany- in the pathway of his wrath.

It took one look, and Dany lunged for his arm, but he was tearing out of the house and out into the mud. _"Stop him!" "Jon!" "He's going to kill that boy!" "Robb- grab him!" "JON!" "Kill him!"_

Everyone was shouting over one another, and it only increased the rage- his intention to kill. He marched out into the road with his head pounding and his teeth gritted. Dany threw her body in front of him, barefooted, muddy, hands extended.

"Stop it- remember who you are!" She shouted at him, and his fists balled up. He wanted to hit her, hit her with everything he had. Kill her. "Remember?"

"Shut up." He warned under his breath, stepping towards her, but she remained stationary. He wanted to crush her; catch her in his hands and crush her into dust. She was so such stronger that he was. He hated it.

"It's not anyone's fault, these things happen."

"Move, dammit." He hissed at her, but she didn't blink, her purple eyes stared at him with an unreadable intensity. He could see her mouth twitch and her hands reach for him, but he reared back into the mud. "I said fucking move!"

"No! Fuck you!" She shouted, shoving him. And instinctively, he shoved her back.

"Fuck you!"

"Who are you angry at? It's not me or that boy- are you angry at yourself? I think you are- I think you're fucking pissed. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, it is. I should have been there with him." He said with his voice cracking. "I looked him in the eyes and left him."

"What were you going to do?" She asked him, his body relaxed noticeably. "Were you going to kill that child?"

"…I don't know."

"You were going to kill him- leave behind two mourning families, a baby… and me."

"I…"

"You're better than that," she said, and now she could feel hot tears on her cheeks; it was hard for her to be strong for the both of them, "_you are so much better than that_."

"I'm sorry." He reached for her hand, but this time she was the one to back away.

"I think you need to go to your family… they're hurting really bad, Jon."

"Yeah…"

"You scared them." She sighed.

"Yeah." Jon turned from her, sulking back into the ranch, the rain had picked up again and hid his tears from her. But her hand found his and threatened to never leave it empty again.

* * *

><p>She wasn't invited to the funeral, but she went anyways, standing a considerable distance from the Starks. Ned's tombstone was a hundred feet from Viserys, so Dany sat there, watching Jon for any indicators of his rage. But he did nothing. Only dragged himself around like a defeated man with no more tears to shed, receiving no hugs- no embraces that had told him it was alright.<p>

A woman with fiery hair approached the group from the road, stumbling over the curb. Dany watched cautiously as her boyfriend departed from the gravesite to greet her. _That must be Ygritte_, she thought. They hugged, holding each other long enough to whisper meaningless words. Jon glanced at Dany, who pretended not to notice, standing up to retreat down the road.

_You barely knew the man, but fuck- you could at least cry for him. It wasn't as if he were someone you hated- he wasn't someone like Viserys. He was a decent man, and you should fucking sob and scream for him, because there's a lack of decent men. Was it real? Did he really die? Is someone going to appear with a smile and say it was a joke? He really wasn't dead and there's no reason for your boyfriend to be heartbroken and clinging to the will of living. Where's that person? Where's that fucker?_

Dany's thoughts distracted her in a way that was maddening. Her hands went to press on her head, as if she could crush them and find peace. But there was no silence. And part of her wanted to go to Jon, tell him that she's sorry and she understands- but she really didn't, and although he'd thank her, he'd know it was secretly bullshit. No one could possibly understand another's demons.

She lifted her phone with aching arms, finding it hard to walk to Missie's house without texting anyone. Not Jon, he was at a funeral. But not Missie either, she was in class. She just wanted to be near someone. Anyone.

"Daenerys?"

"Oh-ah." She stopped herself from stumbling into Mr. Jorah Mormont, who at this moment was exiting a coffee shop in casual clothes, "I'm sorry, I-"

"Are you okay? You're crying." The concern was genuine, but she was too perplexed to care, reaching to the wet patch beneath her eye.

"I am?"

"I heard about Ned Stark, that's something terrible- you know, that your friend lost his dad."

"_Boyfriend…_" she corrected quietly, wiping black smudges onto her sleeve. Why was she crying?

"Oh." He said with clear disappointment in his voice, "sorry for your loss."

"I didn't know him- I mean- I only met him several days ago… _then he_… yeah." She finally looked to him and his brow was lowered, almost angrily, and as if he disregarded her previous sentence.

"Your boyfriend treats you right, right? Not like your brother?"

"Wha- no. No- of course not." He nodded as if he understood, adjusting himself on the curb.

"You two aren't having unprotected sex, right?"

Her stomach churned and the hair on her neck stood, "I- I don't think that's any of your business, Mr. Jorah… excuse me."

His body moved to block her, "I just don't want you catching any diseases- or getting pregnant with a bastard's bastard; your brother would turn in his grave."

"Please move-"

"You didn't deny it," he stepped towards her, and she hopped back with her phone clutched tightly in her fingers. His hand extended to her hair, twisting it in his hands. "I wish you hadn't dyed your hair."

"Please- you're scaring me."

"You're so beautiful."

"Stop it." She warned as his hands found her waist, digging his digits into her sweater.

"I wish I could have taken you away that night. saved you from him-"

"I'm not yours to save," Dany yelped as tears welled in her lilac eyes, pushing his hand aside with her own trembling one. "I'll never be _yours_."

A truck pulled along the curb, and their attention was drawn to it immediately. After a van had passed, the passenger door opened up and relief flushed all over Dany's body.

"Dany," Jon said with a dull voice, watching the older man intently until he dropped her brown locks, "…come here..."

She obeyed immediately, rushing around the front of the truck to reach him. When her arms went to his neck, a reaction was torn from Jorah, and he shouted to them, "don't demand things of her- she's special. She needs to be treated like a Queen."

"I'm not _your_ Queen," Dany called with a sharp voice, pushing her way into the crowded truck, followed by Jon- who didn't need to ask about what he had just interrupted. He knew.

"Are you okay?" Robb asked her past the steering wheel and a scrunched Theon, not hesitating to speed away from the scene, leaving Jorah a tiny speck.

"No… but it's okay now." She didn't like being the focus of attention, and instead she craned her neck to look at Jon, "how are you?"

"I'm okay." He nodded, and smiled pitifully when she gave his knee a squeeze.

"Hey, don't go getting fresh." Theon teased. It was nice to see the funeral hadn't wavered his humor.

"Is there a reason you guys came after me?"

"Just in the neighborhood," Jon lied with a chuckle. It was sad to communicate with just the shell the funeral had left behind.

"Don't lie to me, babe, you don't even live in that direction." She laughed as if they were the only people in the car. Normally it would be okay to talk to one another like that, but they had an audience today.

"_Babe_?" Robb scoffed in a teasing manner, slowing for a crooked stop sign. Dany realized how ridiculous the term was as it was leaving her lips, and his brother's jesting made her face grow red with embarrassment.

"There's a present for you." Jon interjected, quickly adding, "at the Ranch."

"A present? Why?"

"Isn't your birthday in, like- a week?" Theon guessed as he wiped his nose on the back of his hand.

"Oh. I guess I forgot." She said to herself, and she had forgotten, because she never actually celebrated her name day. "It's been a busy week."

"Yeah." Everyone agreed.

* * *

><p>All of them clambered from the truck, Jon went to his pocket in search for a cigarette, and nobody appeared eager enough to stop him. Dany went about handing out kisses and hugs to the other brothers, apologizing for their pain.<p>

"That was nice," Jon murmured past the length of the cigarette, watching the two boys sulk into the depths of the house. Dany's arms snaked around the width of his stomach and her nose pressed to his collarbone.

"I'm sorry that happened."

"It's okay."

"It's not, though."

"…come on." He demanded again, but she knew he was hurting too much to care about it, and she was far too loyal to him. They walked towards a freshly repaired fence, and it was drizzling when they had reached it. " ' see that colt?"

"That little black one over there?"

"Yeah, he's yours." When she lifted her brow to him, he turned from her and looked down, as if he found the ground more interesting. "My father wanted you to have him."

"He's beautiful." She smiled, searching the field for the black smudge because now she was struck with possessive urges. But Jon was quieter than before, almost as if his breathing had stopped completely. "What's wrong?"

"Um…" he started, rubbing his neck with urgency, "I talked to Ygritte today, and she told me that she wanted me back."

"Oh."

"I said no," he said hastily, as if he were trying to stop the damage, "but then… she- uh. She told me that she was going to terminate the pregnancy as soon as she was positive it was there, because she just can't- _won't-_ do it by herself. And I thought I'd be happy… but I'm not… I'm kind of upset. I kind of wanted the baby, you know? I just don't think that's fair…"

She couldn't find a response, rubbing his shoulder with the breath hitched in her throat. She wanted the baby too; desperate to hold them and let them know that she loved them, even if she was just a stranger. "Well… perhaps there won't be a baby… then everything will be fine… right?"

"But it's like- there's this little piece of me…" he choked out, bending over so that his arms rested on the edge, leaning all of his weight on the fence, "a piece of me that could have done something great with its life… and now, it's dead before it can."

"I bet Ygritte's scared," Dany said, and the name felt limp in her mouth. She didn't know her, but she applied feelings to the red-headed mystery woman, because she was an actual human being and not just a name. "She's probably feeling helpless and like this is the only way out… she's probably feeling alone…"

"Yeah… I guess you're right. Maybe there won't be a baby…"

Dany leaned to whisper into his ear, her hair curtaining around them. "We could have one… we could name it after your father."

"I think it's too early for us to be playing God like that," he whispered back, but he could not hide the sliver of eagerness that drowned in his words.

"I want one… before you leave for the Army."

"I'd never see them grow…" Jon spoke as if it was beyond a consideration, it was now a fact. "Why the fuck did I do that? Why did I sign up that day? I wish I could back out of it."

"Me too," she laughed away any tears, because they were both trapped in the result of that day. "But can you imagine… I could have a home waiting for you, and no one would ever dismiss you for what you are- we'll make love to music every night, and raise our baby during the day- you'll return to work and we'll start over the next time."

"But it's not just returning to work… it's pure separation. People change. I'll change, you'll change." His head pressed to hers but his face was turned, "what if you won't love me anymore… because you won't recognize me?"

"I don't think that's possible. I think I'll always love you. Even if you told me that you hated me, beat me, and tried to abandon me," she smiled into his hair, and her hand gripped his with desperation," I'm just so obsessed with you. Obsessed with the smiles you share with me, how you lose control when you fuck up, and the way you breathe, kiss, and speak. If you think being together isn't right, then I'm alright with being wrong. We were never right in the first place- and hasn't it been great?"

"Yeah…" he laughed with satisfaction, and lifted her hand to press to his mouth. "I think I might be obsessed with you, too. You always know what to say, and you're stronger than I am."

"Are we soulmates?" She asked, fighting the embarrassment that ensued, because only babes believe in that. People are so quick to deny its existence, that when it finally happens nobody has enough faith to believe it- let it pass them by.

"Yeah- love at first sight probably."

"Can we buy a flat and have some babies?" She asked with a childlike delight, twisting his arm so he could face her. "Even if you're only around for a little while- it's what I want. I really want it."

"Sure."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"We'll have sex on all of our cheap furniture-"

"None of the decorating will get done, we'll be too busy-All of our walls will be half painted."

"You can smoke all the ciggies you want and we'll make terrible dinners together." She giggled.

"But what about when I leave?" His voice crumbled with realization.

"I'll use your shirt like it was a pillow case, and dream about you."

"I'll keep your photo in my pocket, and dream about _you_."

"Okay," she quietly whispered, her lips curling up.

"Okay," he agreed. "Let's buy a flat."


End file.
